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wondereads · 3 years

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Personal Recommendation (06/06/21)

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Why am I recommending this book?

I really loved this book. It was really well-written, the characters were great, and I have an extreme obsession with faeries. I can see why it's so popular, and I finished the entire series in a week.

Want something short and sweet? Check out my tiktok

Plot 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

When she was a child, Jude Duarte's parents were killed by her mother's first husband, a vengeful faerie general. The general in question, Madoc, took his own faerie child, Jude's older sister Vivienne, and mortal Jude and her twin sister Taryn to live with him in Elfhame. Although Jude lives under his protection, she is abused by the complicated rules and vicious inhabitants there. Desperate for power, Jude gets involved in a power struggle between the three princes of Elfhame, Dain, Balekin, and her personal tormenter, Cardan.

I love political intrigue books; I also talked about this in my review of The Winter Duke. I find it so much more interesting when the characters decide to use manipulation and politics to their advantage than just going to war. Also, despite most of the faeries being irredeemable assholes, Jude's motivation to protect Elfhame and continue to live there was believable. Also, the missions she went on were always full of suspense, and I don't think I was ever bored while reading this book. Normally, romantic relationships in the midst of much bigger problems tend to irk me, but Jude and Locke's relationship was incredibly riveting. Rather than just being a distraction from the main plot like in some other books, I think that whole interaction only fueled Jude's decisions later, especially in terms of her recklessness. Also, all of the scenes where Jude develops other relationships, such as with Taryn, Cardan, Dain, and the Court of Shadows, contributed either to Jude's character development or directly to the plot. Finally, there are many twists and turns throughout the book. The reader knows there's something up, but I could never quite figure it out in time. For example, it's not hard to see that something's up with Locke. However, I had no idea what it actually was until the reveal took place. I was always on the edge of my seat.

Characters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

It is so hard to write from the perspective of only one character and then make them likable. Despite the entire book being from Jude's perspective, she was my favorite character. She's tough, she's unrelenting, and she's willing to make sacrifices. On the other hand, she's ruthless, reckless, and not exactly what I would call a 'hero'. It is so satisfying to have a main character that understands that sometimes bloodshed is necessary and does not shy away from making hard decisions. Jude, of course, initially has reservations against killing, but I think the way she overcomes that was perfect.

Cardan, of course, is a crazy complicated character. Especially since it's all from Jude's perspective, we never know exactly what he's thinking. Either way, you'll probably end up hating him before you're a few chapters in. Despite that, the paper and the Court of Shadows scene are rattling. I won't go into further detail to avoid spoilers, but I have to mention that I loved where Cardan and Jude's relationship left off in the first book. It's made abundantly clear that they do not love each other, probably don't even like each other. What they have is a mutual obsession, and they definitely have a long way to go for any semblance of a healthy relationship.

As for the other characters, I would willingly kill Taryn and Locke, no I will not elaborate. Madoc is more trouble than he's worth, and I will forever be shaken over the fact that he is apparently green. I'm kind of on the fence with Nicasia because she's had to deal with just as much manipulation from faeries as Jude, but she also, you know, as humiliated Jude and tried to kill her multiple times, so... Valerian can choke. I actually quite like Oriana and Oak, and I think Oriana would be fine if she wasn't so paranoid about Jude and her sisters. Finally, I could never get a good read on Dain, but I think that fits well. It makes sense that he never shows his hand, and I did at least like him, even if I didn't trust him.

Writing Style 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Holly Black's pacing is impeccable. I was never bored while reading this book, and I felt like I had to keep going. Many fantasy books are tricky in the first quarter or so because of all the worldbuilding that has to be established, but I think she worked it into the actual plot very well. There's also the issue that writing about faeries is tough. They're always giving out riddle and all their words have double meanings, so the author has to account for that, which I think Black did wonderfully. Once again, it's amazing that I like Jude so much when the entire book is just undiluted her all the time. I'm so impressed that I never once disliked her while reading. Also, there were certain scenes that absolutely took my breath away. As in, I had to stop and breathe for a moment after I finished them. Finally, I loved that Holly Black included allusions to the other faerie books she's written, such as Severin from The Darkest Part of the Forest and Roiben and Kaye from Tithe.

Overall 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I love it. The plot was very well planned out, the characters were well-developed and had believable motivations, and the pacing was so good. I can see why people go crazy for Jude and Cardan because they're both compelling characters with a relationship that can't go five minutes without creating some new drama. There's also the fact that I love anything to do with the darker side of faerie lore. I would recommend this book for people who like faeries, enemies to lovers, and complicated family relations.

The Author

Holly Black: American, 49, also wrote The Spiderwick Chronicles, Modern Faerie Tales, and The Iron Trial

The Reviewer

My name is Wonderose; I try to post a review every two weeks, and I take recommendations. Check out my about me post for more!

#books #recommendations #reviews #the cruel prince #holly black #folk of the air #fantasy #ya

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walkwithheroes84 · 3 years

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Immortals After Dark (Half Way) Series Thoughts And Couples Ranked

I started reading the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole on February 5th, 2021. In the last twelve days, I've read roughly half the series. And, believe me, I was crushed to find out that the last book was released in 2017. The fandom is dead and the author - whether due to publisher issues, health issues, or a mixture of both - hasn’t been active on any social media platforms since 2019.

I have some mixed feelings on the series, but since I have no one to share them with, I’ve decided to put them here. I chose to read this series because I liked the idea of it: immortal beings, preparing for a major “battle”, all while dealing with last-minute villains and finding their true soulmates. Yeah, I’ll read that. So, what have I liked about the series?

Let’s start with the fact that it is very clear that Kresley Cole had a major game plan in mind. Hints of future books, hints of storylines, and future important characters are introduced in every book. Since most of the novels take place around (or even at the same time) readers are often given several perspectives of the same events. Someone who seemed like a no-so-great person in one novel is shown to be a better person two novels later - because we now know their backstory and what makes them tick. A character might offhandedly mention something in a novel (example: Garreth mentioning Lucia is his destined mate in book one) and it comes full circle in another novel - we get to see that story play out.

Even if your favorite character plays a minor or side role in one novel, there is a great chance they will be a main character at some point in the series. And, as someone who often loves the side characters more than the main characters, that was a nice surprise for me.

It’s also fairly clear that Cole took some time in developing the different (major) groups within the Lore: who they are, what they can do, who they are friendly with, etc. That was a nice detail that I liked, especially as it didn’t really change in the novels I’ve read. And to be honest, in such a long series, it would be very easy for an author to forget smaller details. But, I don’t think Cole has - yet.

There were some things I didn’t like, of course. Having read books 1-7 and then 9-10 (I don’t have access to book 8 yet) in the span of twelve days - it is so painfully clear that Cole has a formula she likes to work with.

Most of her novels play out the same way: ML and FL meet. An attraction forms, with the ML realizing that the FL is his destined mate/Bride/whatever. They fight, he chases her, they fight some more, there is a bit of sex, there is a misunderstanding, he’s possessive, they fight and have sex, there is something terrible looming in the background that gets quickly taken care of in the last 50 or so pages, they fight again, they makeup and then they ride off into the sunset until they have a few cameos in other couples’ novels. It’s painfully predictable at times, and in truth it works well with some couples and not so well with others. So, I do like when Cole changes things a bit. (See book ten, Dreams of a Dark Warrior, for example.)

I also have to fully admit that some of the Alpha males, who were so possessive, running around calling women “Mine,” while being borderline abusive or/and manipulative at times turned me off. That kind of guy is just not my cup of tea. So, I’m sad to say I have not (as of yet) been a huge fan of the Lykae and the way they tend to treat their fated mates.

That said, I’d like to go over each couple and rank them.

09. Emma Troy and Lachlain MacRieve from A Hunger Like No Other (Book 1): I almost stopped reading because of this couple. I understand that he was tortured and hurt by vampires for years, but he was so awful toward Emma when he thought she was a full blooded vampire! He demanded she touch him in exchange for a phone call! It was so clear that she was scared, and because of his own trauma, he did nothing to calm her. Not a fan.

08. Sabine, Sorceress of Illusions and Rydstrom Woede from Kiss of a Demon King (Book 6): While I liked them as characters, their relationship just felt very toxic to me. At times I was even uncomfortable with the way they treated one another. From reviews I can tell that a lot of people like them, so I may go back to this novel once I have finished the series.

07. Holly the Bright and Cadeon Woede from Dark Desires After Dark (Book 5): Cadeon was fine. Holly was fine. But - he was going to sell her out! I can’t get behind that. In the end, they did win me over, but I just felt (at times) that Holly could be a bit boring and that Cadeon’s betrayal (while somewhat understandable) was too much.

06: Mariketa the Awaited and Bowen MacRieve from Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night (Book 3): Mari was stronger than Emma in dealing with her Lykae and because Bowen thought his feelings were a spell he wasn’t as possessive with Mari as Lachlian had been with Emma. Mari and Bowen had a bit of humor in their relationship, a bit of teasing and they were just...fun. I enjoyed their interactions before and after they were together. Do I think Mari forgave him way too easily? Yes. Do I think their issues were solved too easily? Yes. But, my goodness, I still enjoyed them.

05. Kaderin the Cold/Kind Hearted and Sebastian Wroth from No Rest for the Wicked (Book 2): This is a weird one, because I can’t really tell you why they made my top 5, but they did. I liked Sebastain and the way he just wanted to make Kaderin happy. I loved that Kaderin was not the damsel in distress that some of the other heroines had been throughout the series. In fact, I would dare say that it was Kaderin who was leading the romance instead of Sebastian, which was a nice change of pace in this series.

04: Daniela the Ice Maiden and Murdoch Wroth from Untouched (Book 7): I really loved the setup here: when Murdoch had been alive, he had been a, well, he slept with a lot of women. Dani is a virgin at 2000 years old. Why? Because she is half Icere Fey, which means when anyone touches her skin they freeze and she burns. Dani also happens to be Murdoch’s Bride, which means after 300 years of no sex (or interest in sex) Murodch suddenly wants to have sex - with Dani - who can’t. They have a lot of back and forth, push and pull. They find some very creative ways to be together without actually touching. And, for some weird reason I really enjoyed them. They weren’t the typical story in this series and I liked that.

03: Carrow Graie and Malkom Slaine from Demon From the Dark (Book 9): Me, Tarzan. You, Jane. That’s what seems to come to mind for a lot of people who read this one. Malkom is a seriously traumatized demon/vampire, who knows nothing of the world and is somehow really sweet toward Carrow. Carrow is a witch, who's seen it all and done a lot of it. She’s using him to save her adopted daughter, but Carrow falls for Malkom. And it’s a weirdly sweet and cute story.

02:Néomi Laress and Conrad Wroth from Dark Needs at Night’s Edge (Book 4): A ghost and a vampire. Who knew I’d love them so much. It’s even better, because she’s his Bride, but she’s dead...so they can’t get physical. Instead they talk and get to know one another. She was a woman of the world, and he’s a half-crazed vampire bounty hunter, who was once a virginal vampire bounty hunter. She flirts and teases and he is angsty. They are basically perfect.

01:Regin the Radiant and Declan Chase (Aidan the Fierce) from Dreams of a Dark Warrior (Book 10): Chef’s kiss. Regin does not take crap from Declan and he actually has to work to win back her trust. Declan is a mess, but it’s not used as an excuse for his misdeeds. Yes, he has had a traumatic past and he has been brainwashed, but his actions are not excused by Regin - especially when he goes back on his word. Declan has to fight for Regin, just as much as she has to fit for him. I loved them.

I have book 8 on the way, I already have books 11, 13-15, and book 18. I’ll be buying books 12, 16, and 17 soon-ish. While the series has some flaws, I do like it overall. The books are really quick reads for me and overall I like the overarching story and a lot of the characters. I’m rather disappointed that nothing new has come out in four years and that Cole has fallen off the grid. I know she had books 18 and 19 planned, and reportedly book 18 is finished. I hope it is able to be published someday.

#immortals after dark #kresley cole #iad

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peachcitt · 3 years

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Hi! You've mentioned on Discord that you read a lot of books, and I was wondering if you could rec some? Either your favourites, or ones that had a big impact on you/your writing 🥺

yes!!! all my favorite books generally affect my writing style, and often after ive finished reading a really good book, i'll write something and end up emulating that book's style (either on accident or on purpose haha). sometimes on my ao3 you'll find in my author's notes me saying what book i just finished, and if you read or know those books, you'll probably see me mimicking certain aspects of style

for other reccommendations/more in depth descriptions of book plots, i also have a reading list that i posted this past winter on my writing blog that you can check out, and im planning on posting another one at the end of the summer!! (in fact ive already started the list lmao)

the list will be structured as follows: book or series name, author, and a couple reasons why i like it. in addition to this, i will put stars by author's names if i have read other books by them and greatly enjoyed them.

without further ado:

The Grishaverse by Leigh Bardugo*

this has got to be my favorite series of all time. i love bardugo's capability to write complex characters and complicated plots, and i really like the way she structures her books. the series is just so artfully done and when i finished it i was so perfectly satisfied and so perfectly sad because i mourned the fact that it was over

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak*

literally my favorite book. this is the book i tell people is my favorite if anyone asks. i love zusak's casual humor alongside his ability to write such heartbreaking and heavy moments in just little scraps of images. it's a romantic book without being about romance - it's about love and kindness and how powerful those things can be be, and that shit gets me every time. i have reread this book so many times - yearly since i got it, i think, and i got in middle school, i think. im in college now. and every time i reread it, i get something different out of it

The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness*

i think about these books constantly. these were the first books i read by patrick ness, and, now that ive read some of his other books, i know in classic patrick ness fashion, these books haunt me. patrick ness has this uncanny ability to take genres you think you know and twist and warp them until you're on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what will happen next without the safety net of genre supporting the story. in addition to that, his characters are always wonderfully flawed - he puts real people into fantastical situations, and it's fascinating and always an emotional and satisfying read

The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith*

dude i think about the alex crow so much. i said i normally call i am in the messenger my favorite book, but every so often i'll say this one is because i just love it so much. the alex crow is just so bafflingly weird but the teenage boy main characters are so real and gross and hilarious. andrew smith has the amazing knack for writing weird as hell plot lines and telling stories that are about everything, all at once, while still making it about one thing. that doesn't make sense, but if you read the alex crow (or his other book i've read called Grasshopper Jungle that is actually on my summer list) then you will know what i mean. the alex crow is so many things, and i love all of them

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson*

i used to read a lot of ya romance and, to be honest, the stuff i used to read was not all great, but this book absolutely changed the game and probably made me raise my standards exponentially. the timeline of this book is so creative, and it's done in such a way that it leaves you wondering how the timelines will reconcile. in addition to this, both romances in the book are so interesting and loveable, and the relationship between the two main characters (who are twins) is an amazing thing to see unfold. this is a peak ya romance book, and i can't recommend it enough

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven*

another ya romance, and i have to say the romance in this book is so beautifully done. generally, this is just a really sweet book that gave me butterflies, to be quite honest. i think niven has a really good knack for writing characters that are diverse and a little strange but all have their own distinct personalities that mingle really interestingly with each other.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe By Benjamin Alire Sáenz

this one is an obvious choice, and for good reason. aristotle and dante is just a classic queer novel, and it's earned its place as such. it's a poetic sort of book, and i love the voices of the characters, as well as the pictures of the world we get through ari's voice. this is a visual book written in text - i think a lot about the steady, careful romance of the book and the way sáenz makes ari an unreliable narrator by artfully excluding his feelings from scene descriptions and dialogue tags. it's such a creative and heartbreaking technique that i often find myself wanting to do

The Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

oooohh this trilogy changed me. for starters its such a weird, creative concept - alternate history steampunk and biopunk world war I. like doesn't that sound so interesting?? and this trilogy's main characters are so easy to love - and watching their relationship unfold and develop is so endearing. also, my copies include these wonderful illustrations (which i think might be in all copies?) that really let you put images to the weird fantastical things westerfeld included into the world.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

this book was actually on my winter book list, and i read it so fast and so obsessively because i wanted so badly to know what was going to happen. the plot absolutely pulled me in, and the first line - "I forgot everything between footsteps" - stuck with me because just look at the way that's written!! it's so artful and intriguing, i was just dying to know what would happen next. the timeline is this amazing maze that as i read i couldn't help but admire how long or how much turton had to plan in order to make everything line up in just the right way. it was a fascinating book with so much to say - im really looking forward to reading it again

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

this book was also on my winter book list, and it just absolutely enraptured me. its witty, quiet sort of voice was amazing to read, and the imagery instilled into every scene made it seem like everything was so real, just right there for me to touch or smell or taste. the plot of a secret huge magic library really roped me in, and i think this is a love story for people who read, people who love stories, people who love the magic of a library.

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero*

cantero's works are just so creatively written - not just by plot or character standards, but by style standards, too. meddling kids is great not just for its complex, loveable characters or for its fantastical, dark, and mysterious plot, but also for the weird and intriguing liberties cantero makes with style. in his other books, too, is the switch between snarkily written prose to stage directions to video or audio transcripts, and it makes for such a visual sort of book - i mean, i could easily see any of cantero's books being made into a film or series because all the material is right there. cantero's creativity with style is so intriguing to me, and because of him, i've become more familiar with playing around in style in an attempt to create something as interesting as his novels

and that's all i'll put down here now!

i mentioned it a little, but probably my biggest style references are leigh bardugo, markus zusak, edgar cantero, and andrew smith for various reasons that i am more than willing to talk more in depth about if anyone is wondering<3

thank you for asking im always willing to talk books :')

#ask #miabrown007 #book rec list #book recs #long post #I ALWAYS TALK SO MUCH WHEN IT COMES TO BOOKS IM SO SORRY #someone: what are you favorite books? / me (vibrating at the speed of sound):#anyway if anyone is truly curious about my style references just send me an ask and i will answer!

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talesofafangirlwithadvr · 4 years

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June Picks!

And just like that we’re at the end of yet another month. I seriously do not know where these months are going. I think they’re going by faster now since we’ve been socially distant. I hope everyone is staying safe out there and can enjoy the start of summer while also being smart. It’s good to know we can always escape into TV and movies at home. Without further ado, here’s my monthly wrap up.

You know spoilers are coming....

DC’s STARGIRL

I gave some quick thoughts a few weeks back when the first episode of the latest DC TV show premiered on the CW. I really liked this episode and it got me pumped for the series, but since then I feel most of the episodes have dragged for me. Because this show has the DC streaming service feel, it makes you want to binge all the episodes, which is something you can’t do when CW airs it on a weekly basis. Most of the action occurs at the beginning or end of the episode, which serves as a great cliffhanger, which works well in this streaming format. Due to this format, the middle can drag...a lot. Going in I didn’t know much about Stargirl or the JSA. (My main knowledge comes from that special the Justice Society had in that one Smallville special all those years ago. There it was a bit of an overload of heroes, unlike here.) I love Pat and Courtney’s relationship. Every episode they bond more and I especially liked when she was complaining to him about how the other teammates don’t listen to her. He understood that really well. I am also just loving Luke Wilson as Pat. I think he works well for the role. Feels believable. I’m ALWAYS a fan of a new generation of heroes. While it was slower getting the team together, now that we have the core group I am especially excited. The latest episode (6) was one of the strongest for me and I am very excited to see this up and coming team train and get stronger. I’m also interested in learning more about the villains. I think it’s interesting how we are also meeting a lot of the villain’s kids who seem to not know their parents’ true identities. I wonder if we’ll be able to turn any of them. (Feeling it for Icicle Jr.) For our team, I’m really loving how it’s three girls and one boy. I think that’s a dynamic we don’t often see, especially in a group of superheroes. I’m still working out who to ship, but I’m really loving Rick. Can’t wait to continue watching. I hope we get more of these epic stance moments.

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW

Let’s continue on this superhero thread with another one of my favorites, which wrapped up its 5th season (crazy it’s already the 5th!) at the start of the month. I’ve said this before and I will continue to do so, Legends is THE BEST SHOW IN THE ARROWVERSE. It has been the most consistent and that’s not only because of a strong cast, the freedom to do basically anything they want with the plot and also being a mid-season show. I think where the Flash and Arrow often get tripped up is having too many episodes to fill, which forces story lines to be dragged out and filler episodes. With a 13 episode season you don’t get that. WARNING I’m going to jump into season 5 spoilers now!!

So, some of my overall thoughts for this season:

The Wave-rider has always been a revolving door for characters. This show probably has the most turn-over than any other show I watch. And it works, but for this season especially it felt like a lot of coming and going as I look back.

It was sad to see Ray leave. Not only is he one of my favorites, but he was one of the core crew that was left. He brought great humor and heart to the show. I loved his bromance with Nate over the seasons. I wish he could have come back for the finale. While I like that he left with Nora (because they are adorable) it just felt too fast (and that was with me knowing how many episodes he had left).

Charlie’s exit. I know she had a large part of the plot with her sisters, especially in the second half of the season, which means she’ll be missed even more next season. When she said she was staying in the finale I was like WHAT! It just felt so sudden and I didn’t see it coming.

The lack of Sara on the ship this season made me feel like she had other projects in the works. When she became blind I was like op this is it for her character. Now of course, I see how that worked into the overall story line, but with her abduction at the end of the season (meaning another absence) I’m curious if she is working on other things. I do love seeing Ava at the helm though. She makes a great captain. I just wish the two could be co-captains on the screen more often in future seasons to come. It hurt me too much to see Ava’s reaction to when she knew she was going to lose Sara.

At first I REALLY missed the original Zari. She’s the one we knew for a few seasons and now she was gone. That’s the main reason why I had difficulty liking Behrad right away. I do appreciate that they didn’t drag out the plot of discovering something in the timeline had changed. I liked how Nate had some memory and got that message from Zari. When Zari 2.0 showed up I missed our original Zari even more, but the more episodes she was a part of, she grew on me and I suddenly was worried to lose her. I was completely fine with having both Zaris on the Waverider (ha, ha, ha, but seriously). I think Tala did a great job of bringing two different incarnations to the character and seeing how Zari would have grown up if she didn’t have such a tragic backstory.

I can seriously go on and on about this season, but I think it’s best to leave for another post.

THE 100

If you follow me or have read other posts on my page you know I’m a 100 fan. If I’ve had strong feelings about an episode (positive or negative) you will probably see a reaction post. I haven’t watched this past week’s episode yet, so this will mainly relate to the first five episodes of season 7. I’m having a love/hate relationship so far, which honestly I’m not shocked about. The first few seasons of this show were definitely the strongest, but I’ve remained a loyal fan and supported it throughout. When the first episode of season 7 aired a few weeks ago, I instantly felt it wasn’t going to be a strong ending. I kept saying that the true ending happened when our characters went on the ship to look for a new planet and “ended book 1.” Since then the feel of the show has shifted and that’s especially true with this final season. It’s always been a sci-fi show, but now with the anomaly and this jumping multiple portals and planets it feels VERY SCI-FI. Like at times I don’t 100% understand how what they’re doing is possible. But I’m okay with that. I’ve watched Doctor Who and felt the same way and still had a good time. Going into this season, I thought the anomaly plot was going to be the one I disliked the most. But for me now it’s what’s saving this season. I am loving that story line over the one we’re having at Sanctum (where they are FAR too many new characters that I don’t care about). I absolutely LOVED the Octavia/Dioyza/Hope backstory episode. There were so many great parallels to Octavia’s own childhood and I was able to appreciate how much her character has developed. After seeing this episode, I instantly grew to really like ‘adult’ Hope as well as her dynamic with Gabriel and Hope. (It hurt me so much when Echo killed the man who was helping them get back.) I can’t wait for Hope to find her mom. (I saw pictures of the three of them together again, so I know it’s going to happen.) Speaking of not liking new characters, I DO like Levitt so far. That could be mainly for the fact that he’s also a fan of watching the 100. I was NOT expecting to see Bellamy at the end of episode 5. It brought me so much joy. I hope we don’t have to wait so long for the next time. (Because, come on-we know he’s not really dead.) I am upset that Bob is barely in this season. It’s not fair to him or the character. Even thought the Sanctum plot is bothering me I am loving the scenes Murphy is in. Talk about character development. He better make it out of all this at the end. I also enjoyed Raven’s story line with the radiation. I agree with a few people’s posts I saw about her not having a large plot last season and not being the Raven we know. I’m happy to see her being one of the main characters again. We might not get the ending we deserve, but I hope it’s one that isn’t horrible.

MARVEL RE-WATCH

What’s one way to spend your quarantine/social distancing? Why ranking all 22 movies in the MCU and then re-watching all of them (one a day) and re-ranking them with your new thoughts. With seasons ending early and less being on TV now was a fantastic time to do this. (Plus, I knew a few other people doing it so I felt inspired.) For some of these films, I think I had only seen them a few times and it was hard to remember what happened in certain ones over others. (I kept thinking stuff that happened in Captain America Civil War was actually in Captain America Winter Soldier.) I really enjoyed the experience and highly recommend it, whether you’ve watched these movies a countless amount of times or only once. Watching them in order of their release really made me appreciate all the Easter Eggs and planning that went into it. I longed for some movies and was not excited for others (I’m looking at you Guardians Vol. 2). It also made me feel a deeper connection to Iron Man (which made the ending even tougher-and I knew what was coming). The nostalgia was strong and I’m so happy to be a part of this fandom.

Sneak peak at my re-ranking that is still in the process:

Top 3)

Avengers Infinity Wars

Avengers Endgame

Spiderman Far From Home

Bottom)

Guardians Vol. 2

Thor the Dark World

Iron Man 2

AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER

Avatar was released on Netflix this month and something in me said now was the time to watch it. (That’s right, I haven’t watched it before). The hype for this series is crazy! I remember it being on Nickelodeon as a kid, but I had never watched it. I didn’t know much about it other than the main character had an arrow on his head and was the last airbender. (Yep, so not a lot.) Currently, I’m still very early in-I think about episode 9-but I already feel very invested. I like that the episodes are only about 25 minutes long. They’re quick watches, which allows me to watch a bunch without feeling guilty. After watching the first two I already felt like I wanted to learn more about this world and its characters. I think it’s really interesting how the elemental bending is used and how some characters can do it while others can’t. I also like how the avatar gets rotated within each bender and how the one before Aang was a fire bender seeing as how that is our main opponent in this first season. Coming into the show I was told by a friend that this is some of the strongest character development he has seen. That was such high praise and I cannot wait to witness it for myself. One of the reasons I love watching TV/movies and reading is because of the characters. I love bonding with them and feeling like I know them. I can already hypothesize who will change the most (my mind automatically goes to Prince Zuko), but I’ve been really good about spoilers, so that way I can witness it myself. Because I’m still so early on I can’t say much, expect that I’m enjoying it and will keep you posted on how my journey with Aang, Katara, Sokka and Zuko go.

VIOLETTA SEASON 2

I was ECSTATIC when I found out that season 2 of Violetta had FINALLY come to Disney Plus. It had felt like FOREVER since I had finished the first season (of 80 episodes. You know a show is good if after 80 episodes you’re like where is the next season of 80 more episodes!), but it was really only a few months. It feels great to be back at the Studio with Violetta and the crew. There’s a few new faces this season both with the students and the faculty. It always takes adjusting with new seasons/characters, but some of these characters I really don’t like. I know that’s good because you’re not necessarily supposed to like them, but I really want some of them gone. (I’m looking at you Jackie.) But with a show that has so many episodes, a lot of the story lines often get dragged out, so I don’t know when that will be. Again, Violetta has found herself in a love triangle (just like every other teenage girl, lol). This time Diego opposes Leon and is much different than Tomas in season 1. Where Tomas was passive and always wore a face of uncertainty/confusion, Diego is bold and won’t take no for an answer. At times I feel he borders stalker territory.

So far, I’m up to episode 20 and am getting more into it. I was missing out on the performances/ songs and now there’s starting to be more, which has me excited. I’m hoping not to watch this one as fast because I know most people say it is the best one, plus who knows when season 3 would appear on Disney Plus. For anyone unfamiliar with my first post about Violetta earlier in the year should check it out if they’re looking for a telenovela full of drama, misunderstandings love triangles, angst and music that will get stuck in your head. Definitely worth the watch!

WORLD OF DANCE

My favorite dance competition TV show is back and I could not be more excited!! There’s just something about World of Dance that puts me in such a good mood and I can’t wait for Tuesday nights. I’m just upset at myself that I watch the latest episode too soon and then have to wait another week. This season the judges switched it up by coming to the contestants last audition with the producers...or so they thought. I loved seeing their reactions when they walked into the room and Ne-Yo, Jennifer Lopez and Derek Hough were there. It was priceless. While I don’t have a dancing bone in my body, I still am able to appreciate this talent and love watching the contestants perform. What I really like about this show is the range of ages and types of dancers from soloists, duos, trios and groups. I like how each competes within their group until the final episode when they have won their category. The talent is already so strong as they finished the call backs (which was a new feature this season too). Some of my favorites are below. I can’t wait to see what happens for the rest of the season. I just hope the pandemic didn’t interrupt the filming. You can catch up on all episodes by watching NBC on demand!

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST....

BEECHAM HOUSE

Ending strong with yet another Masterpiece Classic, Beecham House. This series, which aired earlier in the UK, premiered about two weeks ago here in the states on PBS. While I’ve heard that there will not be a second season and the outrage of that makes me worried for how this season will end. (After watching Sanditon earlier this year you really don’t know what to expect.) Despite knowing this already, I will continue to watch the show and enjoy what we have. Which I am so far. While only the first two episodes have aired, I already feel very invested. The first episode, specifically, leaves a lot of questions unanswered, which is understandable because they want to draw you in to watch the show. I was making a lot of speculations, but refrained from going into too much spoiler territory. (Surprisingly, I’ve been good! That’s impressive for me!) Some of my questions have already been answered in the second episode (but of course, there are more to go) and I was happy how I guessed. There’s so many characters and it feels like we’re gaining more with each episode. Despite, there being so many, I am able to keep up and like seeing new characters interact with one another. I also enjoy seeing a lot of familiar faces from Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol) in a very different kind of role compared to Downton and Leo Suter who has been in a lot of my recent Masterpiece watches (Victoria, Sanditon). I love how he plays such a different character in each project he’s in. Really shows his range. With four more episodes to go I can’t wait to continue learning more about what’s going on in Beecham House and what their futures will be. I don’t know if the US numbers will help a chance for a second season, but I hope so!

Speaking of my previous Masterpiece watches: I really enjoyed World on Fire overall. It ended with some big cliffhangers and I am very excited it got a second season!!

What are you watching? Any requests of what I should tune into next?

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allie1804-fan · 4 years

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Please Assist Me (Chapter 15)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10 , Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14

Warnings : Explicit content

She Said

Having those 2 days with Keanu and no kids was blissful but it still didn’t feel like long enough. We’d got up briefly for lunch but found ourselves back in bed mid afternoon having a serious conversation. The e mail Keanu had received about the Matrix shoot had meant we wanted to make the most of our time to make love without having to keep quiet but it also made it more pressing to talk about whether to tell the kids we were an item, whether he would sleep over at my house at all before going away and how we would deal with being apart.

In normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have hesitated to tell the kids. I knew I wanted him in my life but the fact was, he was going to be away, maybe for 4 or even 5 months so I was unsure about him being around a lot for the next few weeks then just as suddenly disappearing.

“What if you all came with me and we rent a little house over there? You said school is likely to be online for the rest of the year right?”

“Could we even do that? – nobody in Europe wants Americans over there do they? And it would mean me doing all the home schooling and they’d only have each other, none of their friends. I’m sorry but I think it would just be too disruptive for them - we have to stay here, hard as it is”

He looked crestfallen but I think he knew it was a non starter.

“But please, let’s just tell the kids” he pleaded. I want to spend as much time as I can with you before I go and if they don’t know, that’s gonna be tough. And I know you said you didn’t want me to just disappear and that is what I will be doing but, in the future ….”

He paused for emphasis, leaving the ‘future’ word hanging in the air

“In the future, we’re going to have to tackle that challenge every time I have a shoot on location so we’ll just use modern technology right? So they know I’m thinking of them and still there for you even if not in person”

I hugged him to me

“OK, OK, you’re right, let’s start as we mean to go on. Why don’t you come for dinner and sleep over tonight?”

“Deal” he replied, hugging me back.

He Said

I could tell Sophia was a little hesitant about telling the children and going all in with me being “official” before I went to Germany but I couldn’t bear to be apart from her any more than strictly necessary and with my job, this wasn’t going to be just a one off problem. If we wanted to make it work into the future, we had to find a way to deal with this from the get-go.

Later that afternoon, I followed her to Miranda’s house to fetch the children, taking my bike so I’d have transport the following day.

Miguel and Eva were thrilled to see me and begged me to prove to the other kids that I was indeed Duke Caboom! It was fun and still not something that happened too often for me, with other characters being the focus of attention more often. It took a while to get away from there, it being my first time meeting one of the other parents in the bubble and I could tell that news had spread from Julie to Miranda that I wasn’t just Sophia’s boss anymore.

Over dinner Sophia made the announcement to the children that Eva was right that I was now her boyfriend.

“Does that mean you’re going to be our daddy now” Miguel asked in a matter of fact way.

I shook my head and took a minute to swallow my food.

“No, no I’m not because only your daddy can ever be your daddy. I’ll be around here more and I will do some things with you that dads usually do - like errm play games with you or hug you better when you’re hurt, or give you a ride somewhere but I’m not taking his place. So for example tonight I’m here for dinner and I’ll read one of you a bedtime story and then I’m gonna sleep over and be there in the morning to help your mom get you up and ready for school OK?”

“and are you gonna be in mom’s bed because you’re her boyfriend now” Eva piped up with her older child’s knowledge.

I blushed and let Sophia take that one!

“Yes he is, so no sneaking in during the night - there’s not room for more than 2 in my bed”

“So I’m really looking forward to seeing more of you two but I’m also going to have to work away quite soon because I’m making a film in Germany and I have to stay there until it’s all done but we’ll do video calls until I come home so you don’t forget about me”

The children seemed to take all this in their stride thankfully which was a relief to us both. I hoped things really would run smoothly even though it was going to be tough and kind of an up and down beginning to our relationship.

That night I had my first taste in a very long time of making love as quietly as possible so as to avoid detection. I must have been a teenager when I last had to do that! It did make for quite an intense experience though with Sophia shuddering against me, pressing her mouth into my neck as she came followed by me kissing her hard to contain my moans of delight shortly after her.

My next new experience came at 7 the next morning when the kids basically leapt onto the bed and did a pile-on, excited at a new person being in the family mix. It was a bit of a rude awakening but also one that filled my heart with warm fuzzies to be part of this family unit.

She Said

The day I’d been dreading had arrived. It was the last day before Keanu was travelling to Germany. It was Julie’s school day so I dropped the kids with her and headed over to his house. He put on a pot of coffee and pulled me towards him for a kiss. I found myself puckering up to the air though as he held back, letting me make a fool of myself, eyes closed, waiting expectantly for his kiss. It was one of his silly jokes that he’d developed in the past 3 weeks since we’d been together more often. It was funny how much of a goofball he could be as well as so serious and focussed.

I laughed and punched him on arm but as I looked out of the kitchen window, a wave of sadness overtook me.

“Hey what’s up?”

“gahhhh, I just worry that this wonderful time we’ve been having, our laughter, our passion, it’s all just going to make the next few months even harder……..”

He gently placed his hands on my upper arms then, looking me seriously in the eyes. He seemed ready to give me a proper talking to!

“But Sophia sweetheart, the alternative sucks right? I tell you, I am done with closing myself off to love to protect myself, life’s just too short” He paused for a moment “And I do love you”

“You do?”

“Yes!”

“I love you too!” I know my tone was perhaps inappropriately sad, but I was just feeling so wretched about him going.

“Hey, but that’s a good thing right? That it’s mutual?”

I nodded and let him pull me into his arms and hold me tight.

He Said

It was an odd moment when we said those three little words. With my impending departure, it just seemed to make Sophia all the more heartbroken that I was leaving just at this moment.

I felt her shake against me uncontrollably and let her wet my shirt with her tears for a while.

Then I decided to use the weapon of kisses and positive words to try and pull her out of it.

First I put my fingers under her chin, encouraging her to look at me.

“Please don’t cry” which I followed with a gentle kiss.

“It will be ok” - another kiss.

“It will fly by, I promise” another kiss.

“I’m just going to miss you so much!” she whispered.

“Me too” – I got in yet another kiss.

“Come with me, let’s make the most of this day huh?, let me make love to you. Let’s make something beautiful for the memory bank.”

I was as slow and tender and as passionate as I knew how to be that day. We stroked, hugged, and kissed; we fucked and we made love. We tasted and savoured each other during those precious moments, until we eventually lay exhausted in a tangle of limbs and sheets.

“I wish I hadn’t waited so long to wake up and realise how I felt about you - I’ve wanted you for so long and now I know we both just wish we could press pause - but I have to go”

“I know, but you’re right. We’ll get through it, it will be hard but we’ll come out the other side”

I laughed at her new-found optimism.

“Are we trading places on who’s O for optimistic and who’s H for heartbroken?”

She giggled at that and agreed.

“Let’s try to both be at O for a while, OK?”

“Deal”

We held each other tight for a long time after that, committing everything about each other to memory to see us through until my return in the winter.

I managed to stay at O until later that evening, alone again and finishing my packing before the car came and found she had snuck in a copy of “Persuasion” by Jane Austen to my carry on. She had been shocked that I hadn’t read it even though it was this major plot point in ‘The Lake House’. She had banked on my being thorough enough in my preparation to actually read it but I confessed I hadn’t. I couldn’t help the tears that came then - we were so alike! I had prepared a little reading package for her too which I would leave in the kitchen for her to discover when she came to feed the fish. It was a volume of love poems in the original Spanish by Neruda and another book to help in her journey of discovery of Dostoyevsky, ‘The Idiot’

I hoped these tokens of affection would help us each get through the next few months but at that moment I was heartsore at the prospect.

@fortheloveoffanfic @kindainlovewithkeanu @omg-imagine @iworshipkeanureeves @fics-not-tragedies @ficsnroses @keanureevesisbae @penwieldingdreamer @witty-wallflower @paperplanesandwallflowers @bitchyslut99 @ladyreapermc @toomanystoriessolittletime @fanficsrusz @keanuficfiles

#keanu reeves fanfic #keanu #keanu reeves fanfiction #keanu reeves #romance with boss

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kob131 · 4 years

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https://rwdestuffs.tumblr.com/post/625278536172879872/done-dirty-shipping

Maybe it’s because I’m still not over how the writers just up and offed Clover and are trying to use the ship he had with Qrow for marketing purposes, but still.- If they hadn’t done that, maybe there wouldn’t be as much backlash for what they did?

*looks behind Dudeblade to see all the Arkos shippers still trying to burn RT to the ground for sinking their ship.*

I highly doubt that.

They promoted Qrover (And that’s the name I’ll be using to avoid getting into the proper ship tags) for the sake of merchandise. They do the same with Blang (The name I’ll be using for the Blake x Yang ship to avoid getting into their tags as well), it simply seems as if these ships are just there to keep an audience invested in the show for the hope that their ship will become canon before the final episode of the series.

Ah huh-

Let’s check RT’s merch store shall we?

https://store.roosterteeth.com/collections/rwby

This is the store showcasing RWBY merch by the ‘Featured’ selection. Notice something...unusual?

Yeah, the front page of their ‘featured’ section (which would tell you how they market the show) has three pieces of possible shipping merch...and it’s Renora and White Rose. NOT Bumbleby OR Fair Game. And I do mean ‘possible’ because one could debate that since Ren and Nora are always paired together and considering White Rose is so ignored by the fandom equally ‘shippy’ moments are widely ignored- it’s not inherently romantic.

In fact, none of the three given pages have Bumbleby merch. The closest is the Yang Vs. Adam hoodie...which excludes BLAKE. SO it’s closer to Yang X Adam merch.

But maybe that’s not enough for you. Let’s switch to the ‘Best Selling’ selection. Of that we have...one shippy piece of merch. The same Renora piece from before. Odd, considering if they’re using shipping to sell the show: Why isn’t the merch, the open support of the show, flooded with shipping merch? Why is both the stuff they are pushing people to buy AND the stuff people are buying NOT showing up?

Seems rather counter intuitive ...unless they AREN’T doing that.

This post was made about a month after the finale. If miles pulls the same thing that LoK did with the LGBT+ characters in his show, not only is that hypocritical (As he would be doing the exact same thing that LoK did), but it would also be significantly worse.

Actually he fundamentally can’t. Because Miles wrote in at least three LGBT characters already into the show. So he’s being better by your standards.

Not only was LoK screwed by the network numerous times in regards to their budget, but they were also forced to not make the relationship between Korra and Asami as overt as they would have liked.

And so was RWBY screwed with budget AND resources by Gray. Andd yet no word from you on that...

And again- Already showed at least three characters being lesbians, if not five since Scarlet and Nolan are gay in Before The Dawn, a book written under Miles and Kerry’s supervision.

What network is keeping the writers from doing the same thing with stuff like Blang, Qrover, or whatever the ship name is for Terra and Saphron? Why do they only get hand holding, soft looks™, and confirmation outside of the canon show?

Bumbleby- Canonical status unconfirmed.

Fair Game- Never intended to be a ship. It was just a reference to the waitress back in Volume 4 along with the usual shipping exaggeration.

Terra X Saphron- They literally have a fucking child together.

Other shows like She-Ra, Steven Universe, and Black Lightning managed to have LGBT+ Representation in their shows despite the networks trying to reign them in. So a show that has no such restrictions can’t do it because…?

They have. You’re choosing to ignore it.

To say nothing of the quality of these since Steven Universe is the only respected one and is rather unique in comparison.

Nora and Pyrrha can forcibly kiss Ren and Jaune respectively, but Same-Sex couples have to settle for elementary-school crush stuff?

Terra and Saphron have a fucking kid. And two of your examples are bullshit.

Meanwhile, how are those ships fairing again? ... One is permenantly sunk and wasn’t even confirmed considering Jaune’s feelings for Pyrrha are not confirmed to be romantic and the other is having massive issues that could sink any romantic connections?

And how do people like you react to any kind of strife regarding same sex stuff? ... Called Illa a psycho lesbian despite being significantly more stable, regretful and safer than her straight counterpart Adam?

Yeah, why don’t YOU tell me why a fanbase known for being abusive towards the creators and hounded them for YEARS about this shit isn’t being fed?

Also, this is a dick move. $16.00 for a sunk ship? Not only that, it’s a sunk mlm ship. A kind of representation that hasn’t gotten any real representation outside of Scarlet? And even then, that was confirmed in a different book.

More like a set of pins that can be used for cosplay.

TBH, mlm shippers have every right to be upset about this.

Straight shippers have had the biggest ship sunk and permanently in limbo (Arkos) and the second one is going through a massive rough patch (Renora) while the third and fourth are regularly decried as pedophilia (Lancaster and Rose Garden) if not outright abuse (Tauradonna).

The others get confirmed ships but not the ones they wanted. Boo fucking hoo.

Whether the writers intended to or not, Qrover was coded, and they queerbaited.

Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment[6] in which creators hint at, but then do not actually depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ representation.[7] They do so to attract ("bait") a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion of relationships or characters that appeal to them,[8] while at the same time attempting to avoid alienating other consumers.[6][9]

They literally CANNOT do that by definition. There are same sex relationships AND characters to connect to. If you try promoting this vague and broad definition of queerbaiting-

Well, what’s to stop the Snowbird shippers from claiming they were straight baited with Winter and Qrow or Blake and Sun?

Do you REALLY want to cross that threshold?

P.S. ‘Coding’ effectively means ‘I see stereotypes’ so you’re kind of being a douchebag here.

Let’s also remember that Pyrrha’s entire existence literally revolved around Jaune and she was meant to die to further his development. Jaune x Pyrrha was literally made to develop Jaune and pretty much only Jaune, with the other characters’ reaction to her death being an afterthought.

*cough* Ruby has gotten more development from Pyrrha’s death than Jaune *cough*

Then there was also that one Blang bag that cost like… $60.00. The writers are using these popular ships for merchandising usage and to try and reel in fans who are wlw or mlm with these ships.

Which is why they...don’t...show...up on...the...merch store...

Fun Fact: Dudeblade never shows the so called 60 dollar bag despite CLEARLY being able to screen shot images. So we’re expected to take his word for it despite not being honest in this very video.

They didn’t even have enough self-awareness to feel bad about it.

So how exactly are we supposed to trust them when they don’t realize what they did to the community?

He says as he ignores aspects of LGBT rep in RWBY, outright called a lesbian a psycho for daring to be an antagonist despite a much more unstable person to compare to and ignores the LGBT rep in other RT shows, including Camp Camp which has two heroic gay married men in the show.

Whether you ship Qrover or not, this was a massively dick move to pull. And these idiots have a lot of things to make up for it. If they choose to do it at all.

You know, that dick move you forced onto them.

And yet you doing worse (’Hey when is Miles gonna die so he can be replaced?’) deserves no making up?

Where were the guys who said that revealing that Pilot Boi was gay before offing him was a bad idea? Why did the writers not realize that this sort of stuff was going to come off as queerbaiting?

Probably because Eddy did it himself and didn’t know about this.

But really… Way to go RT. Your dumbass decision has now turned off members of the LGBT Community and caused some of them to cancel their subscriptions.

Hope that shock value was worth it.

Just like with Pyrrha, something you yourself even said before.

I fail to see how this is RT’s fault outside ‘you dared to exercise free will!’ considering that your logic would dictate changing the show the minute an LGBT ship becomes popular.

Even as you’ve spoken out against this kind of thing with Death Battle (accusations of sexism).

Way to go with the hypocrisy Dudeblade.

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dasozelotvonnebenan · 3 years

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— OC QUESTIONS

everything for lorna so a lot of stuff

BASICS

1. What’s their full name?

Lorna Astriddottir.

2. What does their name mean? Why were they named that?

Her name doesn’t mean anything special. Just Lorna the daughter of Astrid. Regular norn stuff.

3. Do they have any nicknames?

Lorna von Kodash when she wants to sound a little more epic. She made that name up when she was a kid and didn’t even know where or what Kodash was. She read it somewhere and thought “well that sounds cool”

4. How old are they?

28 or so

5. When’s their birthday?

somewhere in winter, close after wintersday. She says she gets less presents because of that

6.What’s their zodiac sign/element/birthstone/etc.? Do they believe that holds any significance?

I don’t know much about that, so I’m gonna extend that to her and say she doesn’t really think about it.

7. What’s their species/subspecies? Do they have any special/magical abilities?

She’s a Norn, coming from a long line of Owl shamans. She thinks that is why she can’t transform, but its a little more complicated.

8. What “class” do they belong to (for fantasy characters)? If none, what weapon do they favor?

She’s a necromancer, mostly fighting with a big ass greatsword. And when I say bigass I mean it. The sword as a whole is about as tall as she is, so the blade is about 3 m long.

APPEARANCE

1. What do they look like?

Note how big that sword is? Lorna is 3 and a half metres tall (that’s 11′5′’). I hc norn to be taller than they are in game so they are a little more like giants so she isn’t astronomically taller than everyone but she is still very tall for a norn. She’s also buff as hell. She will stomp you and spit in your eyeeeeee.

have a screen

2. Do they have a face claim?

no. though I think her face ingame is pretty accurate

3. What’s their style like? Clothes, hair, makeup?

She makes a point of casually wearing plate armor to show how strong she is. The rest of the time she wears her robes from the necromancy academy. Her hair is most often braided back, though she changes the pattern often. Makeup wise... excentric and playing off her tatoos.

4. How do they carry themselves? What’s their default expression?

Lorna knows she is intimidating and she revels in the feeling. She’ll stand to her tallest, look expressionless into your eyes and watch you melt into a scared puddle under her gaze.

With friends she is a lot more relaxed though and actually laughs a lot. She still doesn’t smile much though.

5. Do they have any physical ailments or disabilities?

She sometimes accidentally turnes swearing into harmfull magic, but that’s mostly under controll now.

PERSONALITY

1.What’s their alignment?

Chaotic Good

2. Which one of the 16 Personality Types do they fit into?

No clue about those

3. What are their hobbies and interests? Do they have any particular “favorites” (food, books, and so on)?

She does enjoy hunting, usually with daggers becaues if she uses her swords it’s an unfair fight for the boar. She plays DnD with her cousins when she is staying with them and is an excellent kegbrawl player. She does read sometimes, mostly bad romance novels. The more predictable the better.

4. What are they bad at?

Cooking that is more complicated that holding something over fire. She has in her life not once produced a meal that was properly seasoned and is not allowed near the salt box.

5. What kind of things do they dislike/hate?

Jokes about her height.

6. Do they have any vices/addictions/mental illnesses?

nope

7. What are their goals and motivations?

She wants to get into complete controll of her magic swearing, but other than that she doesn’t have any big goals in life.

8. What are their manners like? Any habits?

Theoretically she knows how to act well mannered. However she elects to be obnoxious because she knows people are too afraid to tell her off.

9. What are they most afraid of?

Being alone. As much as she plays the untouchable loner she values her friends greatly.

BACKGROUND

1. Where were they born? What was their childhood like?

Lorna was born in Hoelbrak, where her parents lived most of year. Her parents died when she was very little though, and she was raised by her uncles. She spent a lot of time with the Akis and Dak’s sisters.

2. What’s their family like?

Her parents were owl devotees, by tradition from her mothers side, and her father kind of picked it up because of her mother. They were very caring until they died. Her aunts and uncles are a wild bunch. The Akis are sibling grade cousins and obviously very nice people to be around.

3. What factions or organizations are they a part of? What ranks and titles do they hold?

She’s a Scientica at the Thule Academy of Thanatology (My dad’s necromancer school rp guild) which means she is in the third semester.

In the Family Kegbrawl Team she plays as a brawler and has 14 year streak in getting the highest points for a single player.

4. How do they fit into their “story”?

Most of her personality developed through and around the academy rp. Her magic swearing for example was introduced as a reason why she would want to go there in the first place. Now that the guild isn’t active anymore she is part of my wholesome group of Akis and friends for when I want to think about happy people being happy.

5. Where do they currently live? What’s their place like?

Lorna doesn’t have a place of her own. She mostly stays with the Akis in their homestead or stays at the hunters lodge in queensdale for the school year.

6. How do they eventually die?

no plan yet

RELATIONSHIPS

1. Do they have any friends? Would they consider anyone to be their best friend?

The Akis are definitely not only family but also friends, and she is friends with a few of her classmates. You could count Era and Cap but they are more friends of friends to her.

2. What’s their friend group like? What role do they play in it?

3. What’s their love life like? (See also: ship question meme.) Do they have any kids?

no significant other, no kids.

4. Who do they look up to? Who do they trust?

Her Jotun historian great uncle who for most of her life was the coolest person she ever met, and if she hadn’t met Knut Whitebear one time.

5. Who do they hate? Do they have any enemies?

I don’t think Lorna hates any specific person, but she has a deep and powerful hatred for the svarnir because of her parents.

6. Do they have any pets?

no pets

7. Are they good with kids? Animals?

Lorna is okay with kids, others admire her for how much she can keep up with the energetic little ones without getting tired. She doesn’t particualarly enjoy it but she just can’t say no when they want to play.

With animals sually yes, though she doesn’t like animals that are close to her size or even bigger than her. She isn’t used to it finds it intimidating.

FUN FACTS

1. Which tropes do they fit? Which archetypes?

She’s the Loner that isn’t actually alone just plays that mysterious aura.

2. Do they play any instruments? Sports?

She can play drums :D And yeah as said above she is a good kegbrawl player.

3. What are some items they always carry?

She has a chak claw that is made to be a continer for life force, so that she doesn’t actively hold onto some all the time. It was the first thing she had to craft in the academy. She also carries around a small owl feather in a locket for good luck.

4. Do they collect anything?

The only thing you could say she collects are insults. She knows quite a lot of those.

5. What position do they sleep in?

Curled up because most beds are too small for her. The guest bed at the Akis’ homestead is theoretically big enough for her, but she is so used curling by now she never uses the full length.

6. Which emoji would they use the most?

😈

7. What languages do they speak?

Common, the Norns’ own language (with a pronounciation/word selection that sounds old), a bit of jotunn.

8. What’s their favorite expletive?

(I’m gonna lift this one straight from myself because it kinda fits and Lorna is a bit self inserty anyways) most used is something simple. Fuck and shit in comparable amounts. Her favourite though is “blood and ash!” (which may or may not be the expletive of choice in the wheel of time)

9. What’s their favorite candle scent?

honey

10. What songs remind you of them?

Can’t come up with one right now, but I’ve never been big on the connecting ocs with music thing.

11. Which animal would you say represents them?

You know how cats roam around alone but actually are group animals that raise their kittens together and stuff? That’s lorna.

12. What stereotypical high school clique would they fit into?

She’d be with the emos for sure.

13. What would their favorite ride at an amusement park be?

Haunted House

14. Do they believe in aliens? Ghosts? Reincarnation or something else?

Aliens and Ghosts are both a thing in tyria. I don’t know of any instance of reincarnation but our collection of immortals and sentient zombies makes up for that. So yeah she believes in those.

As for like tyrian cryptids or unprecedented and absurd supernatural happenings she isn’t big on those.

15. Do they follow any religions/gods? Do they celebrate holidays?

She’s a norn and does the norn things.

16. Which Deadly Sin do they most correspond to? Which Heavenly Virtue?

Wroth and Diligence

17. If you had to choose one tarot card to represent them, which would it be?

hmm the hermit would be the obvious one but because she doesn’t actually want to be alone I think the Stars fits even better.

#Lorna Astriddottir

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intrepid-fictioneer-7 · 5 years

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On Whether the Books of A Song of Ice and Fire Will Have the Same Ending As the TV Show Game of Thrones

No.

Or rather, maybe, maybe not.

Seriously, we have no actual way to tell. For years, even before Season 8, many loved to proclaim, especially smugly if said to book readers that came to dislike GoT, that the show will obviously have the real ending out before the books ever finish, because GRRM told the showrunners the details of everything and how it will end in case the show overtook the books. And so you, the one critical of the show, will have to resign yourself that you will only get to see the canonical ending through the show.

And then the post-Season 3 changes piled up way too much for the showverse looking much like the books, reassuring the readers that the show had clearly become its own thing. And then Season 7 and Season 8 rolled around, and book readers felt vindicated, while show viewers were disappointed, saddened, or angry at how yet another the most popular show on television ended so badly.

Nowadays, not many still hold the old belief, most hoping that GRRM do something different. But many others still believe the endings will be the same, if only not with joy but with resignation this time.

After all, say some, didn't Isaac Hempstead Wright just confirm King Bran was a future plot development that GRRM told D&D? Making it one of the 3 twists GRRM told D&D (“three holy sh— moments” to quote them) that will definitely make it into the books, the other being Shireen's burning and Hodor's origin? Meaning many if not most things from the show's final season and ending will end up in the books?

I personally don't think so. Of course, the exact same ending has always been an unbelievable hyperbole, but even thinking most major plot points will be the same has me in doubts. As said earlier, a lot of storylines have been completely changed to the point that they are unrecognizable. Sansa's for example is vastly different from her show counterpart's due to taking another character's role and removing the central elements of her Vale storyline (notably Harry the Heir). The plotline of Aegon and the Golden Company has been completely cut when it would necessarily affect many major and minor characters. Arianne was cut and the Dorne storylines were butchered beyond recognition. The show created the character of the Night King.

So much has changed between the two, stating that the endings will share similar beats would be the same as saying the MCU's Infinity War/Endgame duology/pseudo-finale is the same ending as the ending to the Marvel comics' Infinity Gauntlet storyline simply because in both the Snap is undone. Which is ridiculous: both worlds have changed far too much for one to simply be a copy-paste of the other anymore.

The show and the books have become two completely separate universes, a "Westeros 1" and a "Westeros 2", as Bryan Cogman put it.

But what also makes me doubt are the dubious statements on the ending. So I have compiled many quotes on the ending of the series, from GRRM and D&D, to show just how not so clear-cut it is.

It should be noted that, as far as I can see, only Benioff really implied the ending would be the same:

Luckily, we’ve been talking about this with George for a long time, ever since we saw this could happen, and we know where things are heading. And so we’ll eventually, basically, meet up at pretty much the same place where George is going; there might be a few deviations along the route, but we’re heading towards the same destination. I kind of wish that there were some things we didn’t have to spoil, but we’re kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. The show must go on […] and that’s what we’re going to do. I think the thing that's kind of fun for George is the idea that he can still have surprises for people even once they've watched the show through to the conclusion. There are certain things that are going to happen in the books that are different in the show, and I think people who love the show and want more—want to know more about the characters, want to know more about the different characters who might not have made the cut for the show—will be able to turn to the books. So that's where we stand.

—David Benioff (x)

And even then there are caveats about there being differences.

There is even more circumspection about the two endings in other interviews:

You’re now at a point where you’ve caught up with the books. What does that mean for the future? Benioff: [...] We’ve had a lot of conversations with George, and he makes a lot of stuff up as he’s writing it. Even while we talk to him about the ending, it doesn’t mean that that ending that he has currently conceived is going to be the ending when he eventually writes it. Weiss: It’s like looking at a landscape and saying, “OK, there’s a mountain over there, and I know that I’m getting to that mountain.” There’s an event that’s going to happen, and I know that I’m moving in the general direction of that event, but what’s between where I’m standing now and that thing off on the horizon, I’m not totally sure. I’ll know when I get there, and then I’ll see what the terrain looks like around me and I’ll choose my path once I get closer to it. He figures a lot of this stuff as he goes. He always says he’s a gardener, not an architect.

(x)

Benioff and Weiss always knew this would happen. So they met with the novelist in 2013, between Seasons 2 and 3, to sketch out what Martin calls “the ultimate developments” after the books and show diverge. The upshot, they say, is that the two can coexist. “Certain things that we learned from George way back then are going to happen on the show, but certain things won’t,” says Benioff. “And there’s certain things where George didn’t know what was going to happen, so we’re going to find them out for the first time too.”

(x)

From George himself, I have only ever seen more nuanced and ambiguous statements about the books' ending vs. the show's:

Let me reiterate what I have said before. How many children did Scarlett O'Hara have? Three, in the novel. One, in the movie. None, in real life: she was a fictional character, she never existed. The show is the show, the books are the books; two different tellings of the same story. There have been differences between the novels and the television show since the first episode of season one. And for just as long, I have been talking about the butterfly effect. Small changes lead to larger changes lead to huge changes. HBO is more than forty hours into the impossible and demanding task of adapting my lengthy (extremely) and complex (exceedingly) novels, with their layers of plots and subplots, their twists and contradictions and unreliable narrators, viewpoint shifts and ambiguities, and a cast of characters in the hundreds. There has seldom been any TV series as faithful to its source material, by and large (if you doubt that, talk to the Harry Dresden fans, or readers of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, or the fans of the original WALKING DEAD comic books)... but the longer the show goes on, the bigger the butterflies become. And now we have reached the point where the beat of butterfly wings is stirring up storms, like the one presently engulfing my email. Prose and television have different strengths, different weaknesses, different requirements. David and Dan and Bryan and HBO are trying to make the best television series that they can. And over here I am trying to write the best novels that I can. And yes, more and more, they differ. Two roads diverging in the dark of the woods, I suppose... but all of us are still intending that at the end we will arrive at the same place. In the meantime, we hope that the readers and viewers both enjoy the journey. Or journeys, as the case may be. Sometimes butterflies grow into dragons.

—GRRM (x)

So when you ask me, "will the show spoil the books," all I can do is say, "yes and no," and mumble once again about the butterfly effect. Those pretty little butterflies have grown into mighty dragons. Some of the 'spoilers' you may encounter in season six may not be spoilers at all... because the show and the books have diverged, and will continue to do so. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN ALL FIVE SEASONS AND READ ALL FIVE BOOKS, STOP HERE! Just consider. Mago, Irri, Rakharo, Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Pyat Pree, Pyp, Grenn, Ser Barristan Selmy, Queen Selyse, Princess Shireen, Princess Myrcella, Mance Rayder, and King Stannis are all dead in the show, alive in the books. Some of them will die in the books as well, yes... but not all of them, and some may die at different times in different ways. Balon Greyjoy, on the flip side, is dead in the books, alive on the show. His brothers Euron Crow's Eye and Victarion have not yet been introduced (will they appear? I ain't saying). Meanwhile Jhiqui, Aggo, Jhogo, Jeyne Poole, Dalla (and her child) and her sister Val, Princess Arianne Martell, Prince Quentyn Martell, Willas Tyrell, Ser Garlan the Gallant, Lord Wyman Manderly, the Shavepate, the Green Grace, Brown Ben Plumm, the Tattered Prince, Pretty Meris, Bloodbeard, Griff and Young Griff, and many more have never been part of the show, yet remain characters in the books. Several are viewpoint characters, and even those who are not may have significant roles in the story to come in THE WINDS OF WINTER and A DREAM OF SPRING.

GAME OF THRONES is the most popular television series in the world right now. The most pirated as well. It just won a record number of Emmy Awards, including the ultimate prize, for the best drama on television. It's an incredible production with an incredible cast and crew.

WINDS OF WINTER should be pretty good too, when it comes out. As good as I can make it, anyway. Which is a long way of saying, "How may children did Scarlett O'Hara have?" Enjoy the show. Enjoy the books.

—GRRM (x)

WINDS will be different in some ways, but will parallel the show in others. At this point, there are probably a dozen characters who are dead on the show but alive in the books, so it would be impossible for the two to remain the same. (Also, of course, there are characters in the books who have never even existed on the show, like Victarion Greyjoy, Jon Connington, Penny, Arianne Martell... )

—GRRM (x)

The showrunners note that they’re not entirely sure of Martin’s future storylines anyway (“George discovers a lot of stuff while he’s writing,” Benioff says). But more surprising is that Martin is likewise somewhat in the dark on the show’s ending. “I haven’t read the [final-season] scripts and haven’t been able to visit the set because I’ve been working on Winds,” Martin reveals. “I know some of the things. But there’s a lot of minor-character [arcs] they’ll be coming up with on their own. And, of course, they passed me several years ago. There may be important discrepancies.”

(x)

Benioff and Weiss had to carve their own course for the past couple of seasons, after outpacing Martin’s writing. “I’ve been so slow with these books,” Martin says, with palpable pain. “The major points of the ending will be things I told them five or six years ago. But there may also be changes, and there’ll be a lot added.”

(x)

Anderson Cooper: When it clear they were catching up, you told them over-- a kind of an overarching future of where you saw the-- the last two books going in terms of plot? George R.R. Martin: Yes. And, you know, the major beats. I mean, obviously, we're talking here about a-- several days of story conferences taking place in my home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. But there's no way to get in all the detail, all the minor characters, all the secondary characters. The series has-- has-- been extremely faithful, compared to 97 percent of all television and movie adaptations of literary properties. But it's not completely faithful. And-- and it can't be. Otherwise, it would have to run another five seasons. Anderson Cooper: And in essence, what's-- by the time the series is finished and your other two books are finished, y-- essentially it's gonna be two se-- different-- George R.R. Martin: Yeah. Anderson Cooper: Two different versions. George R.R. Martin: But, you know, I think that's true of every adaptation. We got all these Spidermen. Is it Stan Lee's Spiderman from the comic books? They're-- they're similar, but they're also different. Things happen to one that never happen to the other. Things are resolved differently. The girlfriends are shuffled and reshuffled. The-- the primary beats are there, the character is there, but it's a question of-- what are the choices you make to tell the story, which are partially dictated by your-- your medium. Anderson Cooper: I mean, do you worry that some fans will have Dan and David's ending in-- in their mind's eye? Would that-- would that-- you know, would that be a disappointment to you? George R.R. Martin: I don't think Dan and Dave's ending is gonna be that different from my ending because of the conversations we-- we did have. But they may be on certain secondary characters, there may be big differences. And, yeah, some of the people will have that. There will be a debate, I'm sure. I think a lot of people, who-- say, "Oh, Dan and Dave's ending is better than the one George gave us. It's a good thing they changed it." And there will be a lot of people who say, "No. Dan and Dave got it wrong. George's ending is better." And they will all fight on the internet. And there will be debate. And-- that's fine. I mean, it-- you know, the worst thing for any work of art, be it a movie or a book is to be ignored. (LAUGH)

(x)

How will it all end? I hear people asking. The same ending as the show? Different? Well… yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes. I am working in a very different medium than David and Dan, never forget. They had six hours for this final season. I expect these last two books of mine will fill 3000 manuscript pages between them before I’m done… and if more pages and chapters and scenes are needed, I’ll add them. And of course the butterfly effect will be at work as well; those of you who follow this Not A Blog will know that I’ve been talking about that since season one. There are characters who never made it onto the screen at all, and others who died in the show but still live in the books… so if nothing else, the readers will learn what happened to Jeyne Poole, Lady Stoneheart, Penny and her pig, Skahaz Shavepate, Arianne Martell, Darkstar, Victarion Greyjoy, Ser Garlan the Gallant, Aegon VI, and a myriad of other characters both great and small that viewers of the show never had the chance to meet. And yes, there will be unicorns… of a sort… Book or show, which will be the “real” ending? It’s a silly question. How many children did Scarlett O’Hara have? How about this? I’ll write it. You read it. Then everyone can make up their own mind, and argue about it on the internet.

—GRRM (x)

There is a general sense that things may be subject to change and that the ending, besides certain points, is not set in stone. Definitely not the certain "same ending" some say it will be.

We will also recall that, as mentioned in some of the quotes above, in an interview with The Guardian in 2011, GRRM described himself as a "gardener" type of writer who works out the story as he goes, as opposed to an "architect," who plots out all the details ahead of time, a characteristic which may also play out in changes in the ending notes he gave D&D ("George discovers a lot of stuff while he’s writing"). We can see this in how, for example, he came up recently with a big twist about a non-show character while writing Winds.

So I hope, in having written all this, that I have given some hope to the most pessimistic about the series' end, because I have seen many, especially in light of how the show wrote Daenerys, decide to repudiate the book series and accuse GRRM of what D&D did. While I want to make clear that I don't think GRRM is flawless, I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt based on his strong writing throughout the books series, so that at the very least he be judged on his own merits and own faults whenever Winds (tentatively 2020?) and Dream come out. I urge people to not conflate GRRM and D&D.

And most importantly:

Q: "Early on, one critic described the TV series as bleak and embodying a nihilistic worldview, another bemoaned its “lack of moral signposts.” Have you ever worried that there’s some validity to that criticism?"

GRRM: "No. That particular criticism is completely invalid. Actually, I think it’s moronic. My worldview is anything but nihilistic."

(x)

The number one question people ask me about the series is whether I think everyone will lose—whether it will end in some horrible apocalypse. I know you can’t speak to that specifically, but as a revisionist of epic fantasy—  GRRM: I haven’t written the ending yet, so I don’t know, but no. That’s certainly not my intent. I’ve said before that the tone of the ending that I’m going for is bittersweet. I mean, it’s no secret that Tolkien has been a huge influence on me, and I love the way he ended Lord of the Rings. It ends with victory, but it’s a bittersweet victory. Frodo is never whole again, and he goes away to the Undying Lands, and the other people live their lives. And the scouring of the Shire—brilliant piece of work, which I didn’t understand when I was 13 years old: “Why is this here? The story’s over?” But every time I read it I understand the brilliance of that segment more and more. All I can say is that’s the kind of tone I will be aiming for. Whether I achieve it or not, that will be up to people like you and my readers to judge.

[...]

I think you need to have some hope…we all yearn for happy endings in a sense. Myself, I’m attracted to the bittersweet ending. People ask me how Game of Thrones is gonna end, and I’m not gonna tell them … but I always say to expect something bittersweet in the end,” he said. “You can’t just fulfill a quest and then pretend life is perfect.

(x)

I urge my readers to have some hope. I know I will.

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thelivesoftargaryens · 5 years

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Tagged by @chillyravenart . This looks like a fun challenge so thanks for the tag :)

Rules: Answer the 10 questions below. Then make up 10 of your own for the next person to answer, and tag people.

1. What are your top 3 favorite houses in Westeros?

Well... Of course the Targaryens are my all time faves, but the Velaryons come a close second, and i’ve always loved the Martells. (Sorry I just have to add in the Daynes here too!)

2. If you could live during one era in GRRM’s universe, what era would it be? (Age Of Heroes, Valyrian empire, Conquest of Westeros, Dance Of Dragons, etc.)

As much as i’m the biggest fan of the Valyrian empire... They’d most likely have me as a slave (But let’s hope i’d be born into one of the ruling families and get to have a lil’ dragon of my own :) ) I will have to say The Dance Of Dragons though, because even though i’d probs not be highborn enough to get within Daemon’s vicinity, a little bird told me he liked to hang out in Flea Bottom too, so i’d most likely search this badass up and just ask him to adopt me or take me to wife, mistress... whatever works for him. Y’know, I ain’t picky-- Just make it happen.

3. What is your favorite episode/scene from the Game of Thrones series?

My favorite episode will have to be when Dany is in THOTU to retreive her stolen children and she sees all these forebordings. My favorite scene is stuck between the scene in the same episode where Dany meets Drogo again and Rhaego (it just hurts the soul, man.) and the scene where Bran tells sam that Jon is Rhaegar’s son.

4. What ruler do you think brought the most change in Westeros, be it good or bad?

This is one tough cookie, but i’ll have to say Fat Aegon (aka Aegon the unworthy, Aegon the fourth) Because this absolutely thick, dumb fool thought it would be a great idea to legitimize all of his bastards and then fuck up the line of succession, leading to oh, so many rebellions and wars. Absolutely idiotic.

Honorable mentions go out to Viserys I, the one who couldn’t make up his fucking mind and declare the heir who’d be succeeding him once and for all, and Jaehaerys (father of Aerys) Who thought it would be a great idea to marry his son and daughter to each other, because some randy dwarf that his brother’s peasant wife had brought to court (thinking it was a child of the forest) said so. (No hate to Jenny though, she seemed swell) Though I can’t say that I wouldn’t have seen Aerys and Rhaella wed, because then we wouldn’t have gotten Rhaegar the hot sad boi™️

5. If you could ask GRRM one question, what would it be?

Ugh... I have so many, yet now I can barely think of any. I won’t ask the obvious but I would ask ‘’Why is it so dangerous to travel to Valyria after the doom and why did so many go missing?’’ It was trademarked like we’d get to know this in Fire & Blood, but either I must have completely missed it or it was fake advertising hmmm.... I still want to know, i’d love to know more of the Valyrian freehold.

6. If GRRM could write a short novel/series about one other family or historical time (besides the Targaryens) in this universe, what would you want it to be about?

Personally, I’d want it to be about the Daynes and how they gained their Valyrian features (silver gold hair and purple eyes) without being of any kin to the old Valyrians and Targs. (I know Maekar married Dyanna Dayne but their kids didn’t marry back into the Daynes, so they didn’t gain the features from that one wedding.) It would also explain why Dawn is such a badass, superior sword (even toward Valyrian steel.)

7. What was your first introduction to ASOIAF/ Game of Thrones? Did someone tell you about it, did you see it online or did you come across it at a store/shop)

Well... I first came across the series after it was broadcasted on TV and my dad told me that Tywin hated Tyrion, though more of a direct quote would be ‘’Look at this show, that one hates his son who’s a dwarf.’’ And then I binged it all but forgot about it for a few years. Then I randomly started to watch it again after it was hyped up, but i’d say I discovered the series like 5 years ago.

The books came a little later, however and It was during a Swedish class that I discovered the book (we had quiet reading time and i’d forgotten my book, so I got to choose a random one and thought ‘A Game Of Thrones ‘ looked interesting. It was in swedish though and I only read Dany’s chapters because she was the only character that I knew for sure, who she was.

After reading her chapters, I forced my friend to come with me to the library and I borrowed all of the books and read them during the summer.

Fun fact: After I finished them all (circa 6 months) I began rereading them again because so much had passed since the first book and I for some reason wanted to jog my memory. This was around 2-3 years ago.

8. What was the one thing that bothers you about GRRM’s series?

As @chillyravenart put it, the women dying in childbirth all the time irks me a bit, because i’d wanted characters such as Laena Velaryon and Joanna Lannister to have lived and even though dying in childbed was common back in the days... That the child they’d birthed almost always died, seems a bit overused too.

9. What’s the one thing you unbashedly love about GRRM’s series?

The Targaryens and Valyrians beeetch. I’m a sucker for that light hair and purple eyes (and inhumanly sexy, might I add, features.) They’re basically gods to me. Yet I love how he also shows us the rawness of characters and the human heart in conflict... There’s not really black or white, a lot of things come in varying shades of grey (except like Joffrey, fuck that little shit) and I love the way he describes everything, it’s all sex, sweat and regret--Passion, heartbreak and the ugliness of war.

10. What are your feelings about the prequel series in development at HBO right now for the Long Night?

Unpopular opinion, but i’m not tooo excited. I mean i’ll watch it but I really wanted one about the Valyrian freehold. I’m still hoping for it though. The long night ain’t really my cuppa’ tea.

Now for @chillyravenart ‘s questions...

1. Which Westerosi castle would you like to live in?

Hard question but i’m stuck between Dragonstone and Starfall. Probably Starfall since Dragonstone would be a little too cold and damp for my taste.

2. Would you rather be a rich and influential lord, born into wealth and privelege, or would you rather be someone who wields power from the sidelines, like littlefinger?

Tbh i’d probably like to be born as a rich lord because life just seems to be easier if you’re already at the top... Idk if i’d be clever enough to be as smart as littlefinger lol. Make me a Targaryen princess and i’ll be content.

3. Pick one: Platinum hair or purple eyes?

This is a really tough one but definitely purple eyes. I can just color my hair platinum but purple eyes are rare and ethereal and I just love them sksksk.

4. Based on a tag I made once, based on your physical features, which part of Westeros/which house do you belong to?

I’d probably say the Martells.

5. Who do you think will actually defeat the Night King?

Oh, a hard one. Probably Daenerys and the other two unknown dragonriders. In the series; Jon and Dany.

6. Three people you think will die in season 8?

Tyrion, Cersei and Euron.

7. What would you name your dragon/direwolf?

Well I’d probably name my dragon something like ‘’Valerion’’ and my direwolf would probably be ‘’Viséa’’ idk why lol.

8. How must Ser Pounce be avenged?

Do what Cersei did to Ser Pounce, twice to her. Honestly reading the articles about Ser Pounce’s death was horrible for me, since my favorite animal are cats. I’d make Cersei suffer.

9. Whose POV chapters are your favorite?

Dany’s are a hard favorite but Cersei’s come a close second. I always fancied Arianne’s chapters, too.

10. Your favorite ASOIAF/GOT antagonist?

Don’t lynch me but I love me some Viserys. *Shouts from the rooftops, hidden behind a bench* He was misunderstood, okay?

Here are my own questions; Sorry if they’re shit in advance haha.

1. What do you think about Arthur Dayne?

2. Do you think Rhaegar truly loved Lyanna, or was he fueled quite a bit by his obsession for the prophecy of TPTWP?

3. Why do you think Ashara Dayne killed herself?

4. Do you believe that Young Griff is the real son of Rhaegar and Elia Martell, or a fake?

5. What do you think will happen to Daenerys in season 8?

6. What are your thoughts on Cersei?

7. Do you think Tyrion will betray Daenerys in season 8?

8. Who do you want to sit atop the iron throne and rule the seven kingdoms?

9. List your top 5 characters and a short explanation to why.

10. Thoughts on Fire & Blood?

I don’t really know who to nominate so i’m nominating random people I follow, sorry lol. @mhysaofdragons @eliaamartell @where-is-the-winds-of-winter @rhaegardaily @wolvesofspring @ladyofdragonstone

And... I hope whoever reads this found my answers mildly interesting, even though no one will probably see it. Also, Tis my first post. YAY!

#asoiaf #targaryen #house velaryon #valyria #house dayne #house martell #housetargaryen #asongoficeandfire #GRRM #challenge #thelongnight

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unlikely-allies · 5 years

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***SPOILERS***

4/5

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer is a companion novel to The Lunar Chronicles series. The book contains several short stories featuring some of the main characters from the series. The first story, The Keeper, tells the story of how Scarlet’s grandmother Michelle Benoit comes to take care of Cinder prior to her cyborg surgeries. Michelle was one of four Earthen pilots chosen for a month-long diplomatic mission to Luna. While on Luna, Michelle meets Dr. Logan Tanner and they engage in a short affair, which results in the birth of Scarlet’s father. After not seeing each other for 30 years, Logan shows up on Michelle’s doorstep looking for somewhere safe to keep 3 year old Princess Selene while she is held in suspended animation. The surgeries that will provide the princess with her synthetic limbs cannot occur until she has grown more, so Logan needs someone to look after the unconscious princess until the time is right. After 2 years of taking care of Selene, and always looking over her shoulder, Michelle agrees to let her granddaughter Scarlet stay at the farm with her, though Scarlet is left in the dark about the presence of the princess. Eight years after Logan’s initial visit, he reappears again to tell Michelle that the princess’s surgeries must be done early because he is developing Lunar sickness and his mind is deteriorating. He has arranged for the princess to live with a man named Linh Garan in New Beijing. When the surgeries are completed and the princess is ready to begin her new life, it is Michelle who chooses the name Cinder.

Glitches, the second story, shows Cinder meeting her new stepmother and step sisters, as well as introducing the plague and even the character that would become Iko. When Garan brings Cinder home it is clear that Adri isn’t excited about having her in their home, but she isn’t quite as blatantly disgusted with Cinder as she is after Garan’s passing. Peony embraces Cinder from the very beginning, telling her about her favorite shows and playing dress up with her. To prove to her new family that she is useful, Cinder repairs the family’s disassembled android. Proud of her accomplishment and eager to show it off, Cinder goes to show her new family only to arrive in time to watch Garan be carted off. Garan had contracted the plague and this would be the last time that Cinder or her new family would see him again.

The next story, The Queen’s Army, provides insight into Wolf’s past. Ze’ev Ksley was conscripted into the army at age 12. He was given a brief moment to say goodbye to his family, knowing that he would not be able to see them again, and then lead away for surgery. He is unconscious for days after having his teeth, body, and overall genetics tampered with. Confused and unaccustomed to his own body, Ze’ev is literally thrown to the wolves. Jael, the pack’s thaumaturge gives a quick introduction before forcing Ze’ev to join his new pack members in their military-esque formation. Initially he resists, but his act of defiance is met with punishment. Ze’ev is content with his place in the middle of the pack until the day that Jael bring in Ze’ev’s little brother Ran as the last pack member. When Ze’ev tries to stand up for Ran, Ran becomes defensive and the hostility between the two brothers begins. One day, Queen Levana arrives to tell the packs that she will soon be choosing the groups that will serve as her special operations units. These packs will be spared from the additional surgeries required to become one of the Queen’s mutant soldiers. Ze’ev is picked to fight against his pack’s alpha, who he ultimately ends up killing. Ze’ev acknowledges his new position as Alpha with mixed emotions, but he is happy that his pack has been spared from becoming even more violent creatures.

The reader gets a peak into the backstory of Carswell Thorne in Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky. A 13 year old Thorne is already ambitious and set on life as a pilot. His pompous parents believe he should follow in his father’s footsteps and attend the Andromeda school and join the military, but Thorne has bigger plans. But first he needs to pass math. Thorne, though shorter than his female classmates, is already a charmer and has many adoring female fans. He attempts to use this to his advantage in trying to get one of the smart girls, Kate Farrow, into helping him with math. When Thorne accidently embarrasses Kate in front of the class, he thinks that he has missed his chance. Upon returning to class after his lunch break, Thorne stumbles upon several bullies tormenting Kate. The bullies take away her portscreen and Thorne steps in to help Kate, earning himself a few bruises in the process. Thorne is punished by the administration for fighting, even though Kate explains what happened. To show her thanks, Kate agrees to let Thorne copy her math homework. This story is the one that Cress refers to in proving to Thorne that he is a hero. Thorne remembers what happened as being motivated by his selfish need to pass math, but the reader gets the chance to see that Thorne did step in simply because he wanted to help.

The next story has less of a positive message. After Sunshine Passes By is the story of how Cress comes to live in her satellite. Until she was 9 years old, Cress lived with the other shells in a dormitory on Luna. One day Sybil retrieves Cress to take her to complete a job for the Queen. Cress is convinced that she is being given the opportunity to go to Earth, but she instead flown out to the satellite that would become her prison. Though the story is short, After Sunshine Passes By is an important moment in the life of Cress’s character. It also serves to show that Cress’ positivity could not be staunched, even after years of living in solitary confinement. The disposition of Cress’ character is unaltered from when she first enters the satellite to the moments leading up to hat she believed to be her rescue.

The Princess and the Guard provides the reader with insight into Winter’s background and the relationship between her and Jacin. When Winter is 7 years old she compels a young woman away from the edge of the balcony in the throne room. Believing she has done the woman a kindness, Winter uses her gift to send the woman happy feelings when ever she sees her. This goes on for years until Winter realizes that the woman has been going out of her way to avoid Winter, and Winter doesn’t understand why. When Winter is 10 years old, her father Evret is killed by a thaumaturge, cause her to develop of fear of them. The death of her father also means that she is now left to be parented by only Levana. Soon after the death of Winte’s father, the woman who she saved when she was 7 ends up committing suicide. She had been being manipulated by thaumaturge Aimery Park for years and had recently become pregnant with his child. Winter realizes that upon saving her the first time, she was actually setting the woman up for continued abuse. This series of events causes Winter to give up using her gift. Winter’s first hallucination is of hearing her father’s voice. Queen Levana grows annoyed about Winter’s defiance in not using her gift, this is what leads to Levana cutting the princess’ face causing hat would become her trademark scars. Throughout the loss of her sanity and her abuse at the hands of Levana, Winter seeks comfort in Jacin’s presence. Jacin ultimately chooses to become a guard instead of leaving Winter after seeing what Levana has done to the princess’ face. Both Jacin and Winter accept their roles as pawns in Levana game, but find comfort in knowing that they have each other.

The seventh story, The Little Android, is about a Mech6.0 android that gets to experience what its like to be human. The android has a personality chip “defect”, similar to what causes the human-like aspects of Iko’s personality. After Mech6.0 goes rogue and saves one of the human workers who falls into a tank of oil and is scheduled to be disassembled, the android seeks help from none other than Linh Cinder. Without much time or money, the best that Cinder can provide the android with is an old escort-droid body to replace the one damaged by the oil. Though the speaking abilities of the android are nonexistent and a great deal of pain is experience when she tries to walk, Mech6.0 is pleased with her new form. A fake background and name allow Mech6.0, now called Star, to get a job at the shipyard where she worked as an android. Though Star gets to see what it is like to be human, she must also face the negative aspect of humanity such as prejudice and heartbreak.

Stars Above also provides the reader with Kai’s point of view of when he meets Cinder at the market. Though it can be assumed that the reader is already familiar with what happens during the story, it is still nice to get to see what was going on in Kai’s head during his initial interaction with Cinder. Kai is immediately taken with the young mechanic, and it is obvious that he has no idea how she feels about meeting him. Reading the scene from Kai’s point of view almost makes the fact that they end up together even more charming.

Something Old Something New is the final story in the Stars Above novel. Cinder had abdicated the Lunar throne and has taken the position of earthen ambassador. This will be the second time that Cinder has been back to Earth since the revolution on Luna, and it couldn’t be for a better reason. Scarlet and Wolf are getting married and the entire Rampion crew, including Jacin and Winter, are invited to the big day. Cinder and Iko are transported to Earth by Thorne and Cress who have made a home out of the Rampion, and Thorne has used his precious spaceship to take Cress to see everything that Earth has to offer. When the group arrives at Benoit Farms they are met with a heard of journalists eager to report on the upcoming nuptials and how it relates to the politics between Luna and Earth. It is obvious that Scarlet isn’t happy about all of the media attention, but she is willing to withstand it if it means having all of her friends present to see her and Wolf get married. What Scarlet doesn’t know is that her friends have prepared to have the ceremony early in order to avoid the unwanted media attention. While the girls figure out how to get Scarlet ready without tipping her off, the boys decorate the farmhouse and prepare for the ceremony. Scarlet is pleasantly surprised when the plan is revealed. Kai officiates the ceremony, and Scarlet and Wolf exchange the perfect vows. This story, the perfect end to any fairytale is made complete when Kai proposes to Cinder and she says yes.

Stars Above provides insight into well-loved characters and provides the series with a real fairytale ending. This companion novel is a must read for fans of The Lunar Chronicles, especially for those who are not yet ready to say goodbye to Cinder and the rest of the Rampion Crew.

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terramythos · 5 years

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Now that I am finally through the 12 book odyssey that was catching up/rereading the October Daye series here's a post of my general thoughts. (ADVANCED spoilers. Like I don’t hold anything back, lol).

A. Just for fun, my favorite books tended to be the ones where shit (especially Lore Shit) went down in a Really Big Way. My top 5 for that...

1. The Winter Long (#8). I don’t think you can beat this one in sheer fuckery. Two MAJOR twists that basically change everything up to this point in the series, and they’re both dropped pretty casually. One, Simon Torquill is maybe not as evil as previously thought? and is also Toby’s step-dad? Whoops? And number two-- fucking EVENING, the fucking throwaway character killed in book one-- isn’t even dead AND she’s a fucking Firstborn and also a total piece of shit. God. It was a ride re-reading book one because there are so many hints (my favorite line: “no one knew her true face” YEAH OCTOBER, YOU SURE AREN’T WRONG). I pointed it out but even the Shakespeare quotes of books 1 and 8 foreshadow this shit. That in particular was 999-level fuckery.

2. The Brightest Fell (#11). I was not expecting this book to gut punch me so hard. Like, everything goes to shit, obviously, and the consequences of that stretch well into the next book. But then to give Simon a genuine redemption arc, to invest in that so emotionally, and somehow find a way to end it in a WORSE way than him just dying? That stuck with me. I was so fucking upset I just couldn’t do anything of value for like a day. So that’s how you know it’s good I guess! :D

3. An Artificial Night (#3). God what do you even say about this one. It’s where shit really starts getting real for the whole series. It’s creepy and more fantastical than the first few books and you learn more about The Firstborn and what they’re capable of. There’s a lot that’s just viscerally traumatic too. Literal children being twisted into horrific monsters. And if I’m right, I think the whole series is going to loop back to this one in a big way. There are so many... mentions and (dare I say) hints dropping even now about Blind Michael.

4. One Salt Sea (#5). I mean, a lot of stuff happens in this one that ultimately ties into book 12, but a really major character gets killed off, Rayseline is taken out of commission, the Undersea gets introduced, and you learn what the hell is up with the Selkies. I really truly believe the epilogue chapter of this one is some of the best writing in the series, it’s so well put together and has such great beats. Idk like it was a tossup between this one and Ashes of Honor (#7), but while the latter had some of my favorite bits I think this one had a lot more.

5. Night and Silence (#12). Maybe it’s cause it’s the most recent one and the most fresh in my mind, but DAMN. Kinda like The Winter Long this one had two big twists, and while they weren’t as major they really defined the book. The whole Janet thing I really and truly did not see coming and has some BIG implications for everything we know. Amandine’s a changeling! What the fuck! Gillian being very decisively rewritten into the series (and turned into a Selkie) was ALSO not something I saw coming in any way, shape, or form. This one really fired me up wondering where things are going next.

B. I mentioned it but GOD the Simon thing made me so viscerally upset! I don’t think I’ve run into a series that approached a redemption arc that way. You take a character who’s pretty much evil, then start making it way more gray. Was he a bad guy? Yeah... but he had a reasonable motive. Is he still a bad guy? Yeah kinda, but he seems to genuinely want to change, and actually assists the heroes without ulterior motive. OK, so then he comes back a few books later as the deuteragonist and gets a whole lot of character development, and he starts to improve. You even get a concrete indicator that the horrible shit that corrupted him is going away. And then, when he ultimately reaches his goals? He’s forced to give it all away, to turn back into the monster he’d been, in order to do the right thing. Fucking unreal. I’m fully aware this is to make the whole “finding Oberon” stakes more personal but it hurt, man!

C. My vampire crack theory is pretty much dead, so rest in peace, that.

D. OK so what is with the month names? Seriously. You can explain it away a little bit with the whole “fae like to honor people but don’t like to reuse names” shit but there’s absolutely no way it’s that simple. They’re all female characters who are related, however slightly, to the Torquills. I made that observation pre-book 8, but dismissed it because Toby wasn’t technically related to them. ONLY AS OF BOOK 8 SHE IS, SO CHECKMATE. THERE’S SOMETHING HAPPENING, DAMN IT. Anyway I like making lists, so...

1. January -- January O’Leary, She’s September’s daughter, and she gets killed off in book 2. This might be enough for me to dismiss the month name thing except the epilogue of 11 brings her Back to Fucking Life, so honestly all bets are off imo, she was absolutely brought back for a reason.

2. February -- no one.. yet.

3. March -- no one.. yet.

4. April -- April O’Leary, January’s adopted daughter. She’s a cyber-Dryad and we see her perspective briefly when January gets resurrected. I’m not sure what else to say about her in relation to this?

5. May -- May Daye, October’s blood clone (basically). I mean, her whole existence is pretty weird. You could make the argument her name is just a coincidence (she was once a night haunt named Mai), but there’s absolutely no way I’m buying that.

6. June -- no one.. yet.

7. July -- Gillian Marks-Daye. October’s daughter. I mean. I was going to say “no one”, but she just got decisively re-written into the series. “Gillian” is the feminine form of “Julius”. I’m pretty sure she’s supposed to be the dark-horse contender for this slot. No way that’s a coincidence.

8. August -- August...Torquill? She’s Simon’s biological daughter and Toby’s half-sister, so.... She was ALSO introduced pretty late, unlike most of these entries, so I am still convinced this is A Thing.

9. September -- September Torquill. She’s Simon and Sylvester’s sister. Also like, decisively dead I think. She hasn’t shown up in the main series (only mentioned), but I think she shows up more in the short stories? I don’t know enough about her to say much.

10. October -- October “Toby” Daye. Like. That’s the name of the series. She’s the main protagonist, dawg. She’s Simon’s step-daughter. What more do you want from me.

11. November -- no one.. yet.

12. December -- no one.. yet.

E. So where is the series going? Obviously next book is about The Luidaeg finally calling in the Selkies’ blood debt or whatever, which we knew was coming for a long time. But #12 just made that way more personal with the whole Gillian thing. I have no idea what’s going to happen with that. Beyond that? There are some loose ends here and there, but the big thing is Oberon coming back. That’s pretty much a given. If I’m right, I think the consequences of Book 3 are going to start showing soon, but idk if it will be in relation to that or not. I’m sure she can come up with way more to put into the series (maybe a book around Toby and Tybalt getting married? SOMETHING THAT EXPLAINS THE MONTH NAMES???), but that’s all that’s really evident to me.

F. So, the characters. They’re probably my favorite bit of the series. The Luidaeg and Tybalt are undoubtedly my faves, but I’ve really enjoyed seeing how Toby, Quentin, and May have grown over the course of the series. I know I mentioned this previously, but I really like how the series’ initial allies end up... not being allies, so much-- whether by getting killed off or severely disappointing Toby. Sylvester, Evening, Luna, Lily, and Connor all pretty much disappear or greatly alter their role in the story.

Yet the main cast, the “found family” the series focuses on? Pretty much none of them started out even liking each other that much. Quentin is a snotty noble kid, Tybalt is straight up an antagonist who HATES Toby, The Luidaeg is just plain terrifying, and May is some bizarre doppleganger that (seems to) randomly show up. Yet over time they’ve forged into such a strong and really likeable crew. Idk, it really gives me the feeling that it’s not just FOUND family, but EARNED family, and I really like that.

G. While we’re discussing characters, I want to talk about The Luidaeg in particular.

I think she’s probably one of my favorite characters of all time. That’s a high bar but she is just so damn INTERESTING. Morally gray for sure, but not in a traditional way.

Like, she clearly has her own agenda. She’s probably the oldest character in the series, and she’s fucking terrifying. People use her name to warn their kids at night. We see samples of her powers and the things she knows, and she’s basically a walking eldritch horror. A great deal of the series is her calling in and collecting debts from the main characters so she can use them for one purpose or another. She’s the fucking sea witch. Right?

Except... the series humanizes her so much. She is clearly kind and compassionate and does her best to hide it. While she initially intimidates the main characters, Toby gradually realizes she’s lonely and seems to enjoy their company. Every single bit of her backstory you get adds more context to her behavior. She’s protective of children because hers were slaughtered like animals. She speaks in riddles because there are so many things she’s forbidden to say. She asks for terrible prices because she HAS to help anyone who will ask her to, and there are certain things she doesn’t want to do (and often, it’s because said things would harm others). This is also why she’s so standoffish and avoidant of others-- because they take advantage of her. Despite all the horrible shit that’s happened to her, she still does her best to be kind and do the right thing. And her ultimate goal, I feel, must be a good one. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me.

There’s more. A lot of what she does is clearly calculated to achieve a particular result. She mostly shows kindness to certain members of the main cast (Toby and Quentin in particular) and very few others. It’s always interesting to see how she interacts with other characters, because it closely mirrors her initial behavior. Yet even then you see little things, like how she took in Poppy as an apprentice. One of the few times you get her perspective, it’s when she realizes Amandine is abusing and literally killing child!October, and you see how horrified she is, enough that she steps in and puts a stop to it. Does she have a use for Toby down the line? Yeah, obviously, but it doesn’t mean she didn’t do the right thing for the right reasons. I suppose it’s possible she’s just manipulating everyone, but the stories like that and her blood memories make me feel otherwise. Also, the amount of human profanity she uses is pretty funny, since so few characters use it.

Honestly this may seem like an odd comparison but she reminds me of Akane from Zero Escape. She’s playing the long con, and a lot of what she does seems strange and mysterious until you get more context. And she clearly has some ultimate goal she’s working toward (probably something to do with finding Oberon), but we won’t really know what that means until it happens. It’s probably going to be an emotional rollercoaster.

There’s more to her than that, but I find it hard to articulate. I just really like her! Pretty much every scene she shows up in is interesting, because she has intriguing lore, dialogue, or insights. She’s almost certainly a big focus in the next book and I don’t know if that means I’ll love her or hate her at the end, lol.

H. Much shorter note, but Toby/Tybalt? How DARE you make me care about a M/F ship THIS MUCH. They’re just so good. The ultimate slow burn Enemies to Grudging Allies to Friends to Lovers. It’s such a ride and a treat to read. Their early interactions are fucking hilarious on a reread. And I find myself caring so much about what happens to them.

I. I think this is my last point, but I REALLY appreciated the LGBT rep in the series. There’s obvious stuff like “all the fae are bi unless stated otherwise”, but there’s a really good amount of overt rep. May’s a lesbian, Madden’s gay, Quentin’s bi, and no one bats an eye. It’s AWESOME. Also, making Walther (a certified badass and cool character) a trans man was just wonderful. The fact that he goes on right after the reveal to do one of the biggest Lore things (curing motherfucking elf-shot) is the best. I really like Walther and we need more characters like him.

I’m probably missing SOMETHING, but idk. These were my main thoughts on the series as a whole. I’m interested to see where things go.

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rosella1356 · 5 years

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Two 11/11/11 Tags

Thank you to @bookenders and @dreamingofstarslight for tagging me.

1. What’s the last book you read? What did you think of it?

The last book I read was Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. I loved that book. It was such an interesting story. Is it right to kill children for their parent’s sins? Should children try to kill you if you’re trying to kill them first? These are the moral challenges that most of the main characters face, and yet there is no good answer. Neither side is wrong in their justification, but that means the bloodshed will continue for even longer.

2. What’s the one word you always misspell even though you totally know how to spell it?

The word sword. Don’t ask me how, but somehow it always ends up as sworb.

3. What do your OCs smell like? If you could publish your WIP with scented pages, what would you want it to smell like?

I’ll choose my top three OCs because otherwise this post would be too large for anyone to understand what was happening. Daisy smells like the middle of a thunderstorm, soaked and yet full of potential. Adrian smells like peppermint and pine in sharp contrast with each other. Lulu smells like nothing, if you get close enough to her to actually be able to try and smell a scent, you won’t be able to smell anything. For my WIP, Lost would be the actual old book that’s just opened smell; Hidden Realms would be something sweet maybe cherry pie; Destined for War should smell like smoke, just that would be perfect; and Silence would be something woody, maybe pine like Adrian.

4. Your OC is given a pair of boots that mute the sound of their footsteps. What kind of shenanigans do they get into with these sweet new kicks?

Oh god. None of my current OCs are good enough people not to abuse this power. Adrian, Daisy, and the entire cast of Lost would use those to conquer the government and kill the queen, no question. Vivian would probably start running in whatever direction the fae weren’t in. Kairavi would start like 18 wars in under 24 hours, please don’t give her more power. She’s already started one war; I don’t need her to get ideas about more. Lulu might be the most controlled of all of them. She’d just prank her brother, granted that might lead to her brother murdering like an entire city.

5. How did you decide on the setting for your WIP?

What setting? All of my books have large amounts of scene changes. Lost is them trying to save the entire planet, which means they have to travel the whole world. Hidden Realms initially had a setting in what was once the outskirts of the Roman Empire, now Hungary, but then they ticked off the Church, so they fled to the Americas, but then they found out about an entirely new realm with dragons and went off to that realm. Silence is going to be in some woods somewhere, but I haven’t gotten far enough to figure that out. It starts in NYC. Destined for War starts in Pakistan, but ends in the realm of Gods that doesn’t currently have a name.

6. Your OCs are given a vast array of finger paints. What do they create?

I’ll do my top three again because this is already a super large post. Adrian would likely draw the winter palace and the family he left behind there. There would probably be tear marks on the page, he’ll deny them, but they’re there. Daisy would probably throw the paint on the page and create some abstract mess to call art. Lulu would spend hours making sure she got every detail of Octavian mapped out on canvas, again. She’s done this before. Like every time she has free time. Don’t worry about why she draws him on repeat. (author moves out of view)

7. How many times do you rewrite a draft? Or, how many drafts of a story do you go through before arriving at the final draft? Which story has/had the most drafts?

Gosh I don’t know. Lost is the only one I’ve finished the first draft for because I just started writing last year, so I’m planning on 7 drafts. I don’t know if I’ll keep that plan.

8. What’s your favorite line from your least favorite book? Or, what is your least favorite line from your favorite book?

Least favorite line from my favorite book is actually in Harry Potter from Albus Dumbledore when he says “We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy?”. I don’t disagree with the principle of the quote. In fact I agree that it is a choice most people will have to make. But I can not stress this enough. This burden falls on adults, not children. If you make a child make this choice, I will come find you and beat the absolute shit out of you. Children should not have to fight wars that their parents started before they even reach adulthood. Mini rant over.

9. What questions do you ask yourself when drafting a WIP?

So I don’t generally start a draft until I know what all the major events are and what order they are occurring in. That means I tend to ask myself: what is the plot? Why do my characters give a shit? What am I doing to these poor characters? Generally, the answer is just pain. I like putting my characters through a whole lot of shit.

10. A fellow writer once said that “we’ve all trapped Sims in the swimming pool.” What are the “trapping Sims in the pool” moments in your stories?

Oh my god. In Hidden Realms, I killed a character in order to force the issue of the Holy Roman Empire to attack our main characters. Only I realized after I wrote that, that it meant one point of view wasn’t going to cut it when half the plot takes place after death. I had to go change the entire story to have 6 point of views. I’m still screaming at myself.

11. What’s your favorite bad metaphor?

She had brown eyes like mud. (yes I know this is a simile, but still.)

12. Do you have any pets in you WIP(s)??

Daisy has a pet raven, and a pet mountain lion. I mean they’re not really pets, so much as companions, but it counts. I think Vivian has a fish in her office, but like it doesn’t have a name and her brother is the one who feeds it, so does it count?

13. How many story names have you gone through so far?

Lost was always Lost. Hidden Realms didn’t have a title for about a year, then suddenly one of my friends started referring to it as the book series in which all the realms are found, and then Hidden Realms became the title. It’s the title of the series though. The first book is called the “The merging of Realms.” (The readers won’t understand its meaning until the second book, but that’s called foreshadowing.) The Destined series came about because of a moodboard made for the main character where someone summarized her as Destined for War and I went “oh that’s perfect for the whole series.” Silence is a shitty placement title, so I can refer to the book. It definitely won’t be marketed as that. If you have suggestions for it, please tell me.

14. Are there any important bodies of water in your story??

We cross the ocean in like all of them, so yes. All the oceans. Just all of them. A couple important rivers too.

15. Describe an oc with ten or less words,,,

Daisy: A wild fae with anger management issues.

Adrian: A prince who really wants family but never succeeds.

Lulu: A vampire with a human fiancé and twin witch children.

16. What was the inspo behind your story’s name?

Haha. I kind of answered those in question 13 except for Lost. Lost is a book about children choosing a revolution that will almost certainly kill them in order to save a world that was lost centuries if not millenniums before they were born. So they are Lost ones. The title should be Lost.

17. What’s the most you’ve written in one day?

If you mean new words, I once hand-wrote five chapters in an 8 hour car ride to avoid dealing with grief. If you mean most written period, I typed 31,756 words in three hours from a journal I had hand-written it in.

18. Are there any couples in your story that you find really cute??

Lulu and Octavian are goals. Daisy and Leahsidhe are my baby lesbians, who definitely don’t get a happy ending. Please don’t ship them. It does not end well. I’m a terrible person.

19. Do any of your pc’s have allergies? If so, what??

Do any of them have allergies? I have a gut feeling Balthazar has some allergies, but he is not fully developed yet, so I can’t easily tell you what they are. Its some kind of plant. We’re going to find out when they move to the woods.

20. Is there any lgbt+ rep in your story?

There is a shit ton. I am lgbt+, so are the vast majority of my characters. Adrian is asexual. Daisy is pansexual. Leahsidhe is bisexual. Ruby is lesbian. Suno and Balthazar are gay. Those are the ones who have names. I have ideas for other works that have so many sexualities, its going to be an adventure.

21. Do any of your oc’s have tattoos?

Rose has an entire sleeve on both arms. They’re for all the 28 of the members of the revolution. When Daisy’s baby is born, she adds one for her too. Its one of the only happy scenes in Lost. (author runs away)

22. What’s your favourite friend pairing trope?

Friend pairing trope. Being able to communicate without talking. I love that shit.

My questions for people:

1. Who is your favorite OC?

2. How many WIPs do you have?

3. How often do you write?

4. Why did you get into writing?

5. Have you created any moodboards for your work and if so what are they?

6. Where do you write most?

7. What’s your favorite part of writing?

8. What is your favorite quote?

9. Are there any authors who inspired you to start writing?

10. If you had to publish one of your WIPs right now with no more editing, what would you choose?

11. What is your favorite genre?

Tagging people: @marewriteblr @quartzses @elizabethsyson @rainy-rose @awritinglen @scottishhellhound @cometworks @cheshireinunderland @writing-is-a-bitch @writebruh @comfypitbull

#Tag game #Writing #Writeblr #I can't believe I forgot the tags the first time.

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theemichelleb · 5 years

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Game of Thrones Series Final Season - Season Review

Game of Thrones is such an epic dynasty that I had to really sit and think about how I wanted to review the end of this era. I got involved in Game of Thrones late in the game, but have been hooked on it ever since my first watch in early 2017, courtesy of my bestie, Grets. The series is absolutely phenomenal thanks to the book series author, George R. R. Martin, but of course he hasn’t finished the books because he’s still working on his greatness and the TV series is closing out but it’s okay.

Although, there aren’t really any black characters displayed in this epicness of medieval trials and tribulations, I must say I’m okay with our people not being caught up in the nonsense that actually occurs in the series, and the two blacks that are represented are D.O.P.E. as heck and about their business, no question. It’s funny watching white people be white towards themselves, however.

I’ve decided the best way to review this final season is to give a snippet into my thought for each episode and close it out with my final remarks on the overall series and how the wonderful production team executed closing out this phenomenal series.

Episode 1

The first minute of the episode was truly a tribute to season 1 episode 1 all the way down to recreating Arya’s fascination with the royal family coming to Winterfell from season 1 while showing how much she’s grown 7 seasons later. I love a great reference back to the beginning of something amazing. Especially with Danny and Jon entering winter fell to lead us through the final battles in the Game of Thrones reminding us of how the game started in season 1 with Cersei and Jaime entering Winterfell. It really feels like all roads lead to Winterfell, right? This was such a great parallel because Cersei loved to justify her disgusting relationship with her brother by arguing that’s how the Targaryens kept their bloodlines pure and now we have 2 Targaryens that don’t even know they’re related in love and in a relationship. Nasty… but I can forgive Danny and Jon in hopes that they do better when they finally learn they’re aunt and nephew.

There were also a lot of reunions that I have long waited for and honestly was not sure if we were ever going to get to see; Tyrion and Sansa, Arya and Jon, Arya and Gendry, and our favorite, Bran and Jaime. My favorite part of the reunions is that none of these characters know each other or the things they’ve been through the way we know them and they’re growth. The underdogs have truly made an impact on the plot of the show moving forward and bringing us to a place very close to success and winning the iron throne.

My favorite underdog is Sansa. I know so many people that dislike her for the choices she made, but truth be told she fought for her life the only way she knew how. Yes, she made some selfish choices but when I look at the position she was placed in she really made smart choices for herself and look at where it’s brought her. People always want to degrade women for choosing themselves but men do it all the time, so, I don’t get the scrutiny. Plus she’s been around enough crazies to see Danny is one and I’m intrigued by the fact that she’s not so quick to bend to Danny. Don’t get me wrong I love Danny but she’s not adjusting well to the North and these aren’t the slaves she’s been saving for 7 seasons. I feel like she’s going to struggle to get her throne because she won’t be able to adjust and that’s what Sansa senses.

Episode 2

This episode was kinda slow to me. Based on the arrival of the Night King’s army at the end I see it’s meant to serve as the quiet before the storm. Although it didn’t really give me much, it did have a few notable moments that bring it’s watchers into the intensity of the war against the dead that is no longer coming and is finally here.

I wasn’t impressed with the reunion of Bran and Jaime; not that I had an idea of what I thought it would look like but I expected something. I guess that just ties to the “mystery” that Bran is as the Three-Eyed Raven. Danny is really on something this season and I can’t figure out what it is. I understand her conflicted stance on allowing Jaime to live, but even with her interaction as she tries to address the issue Sansa has with her. I think her desire to be accepted as Queen of the 7 kingdoms has in a way shifted to being accepted by Sansa; is it because Jon is her brother? Who knows, but it’s annoying and I need Danny to gather herself. It’s honestly coming off as jealousy. I saw it when Theon showed up to join the fight against the dead and asked Sansa if he could fight for her. Danny was HURT; it was written all over her face, LOL. I wonder if this is eluding to anything with Sansa always wanting to be queen… could she be a contender for the throne because of the love her people have for her? Or maybe she will just be the key to the North breaking free from the 7 kingdoms and becoming it’s own kingdom.

The battle against the dead brings us scenarios I always anticipated but never believed I would be able to witness. The circle of once Stark enemies turned allies is a huge scene for me; from Tormund’s entertaining but creepy fascination with Brienne to Jaime’s knighting of Brienne; I was truly intrigued with the circle of characters, that truly wanted to see the demise of the Stark’s, come together under the Stark’s lead to save the world from the walking dead. All roads really do lead back to Winterfell. And Arya grew the heck up! Wow… just wow. I always had my suspicions of her and Gendry getting together but I didn’t know she would go from badass to siren all in one episode. It makes sense though, our beloved characters are going into the fight of their lives and because nobody’s life is safe anybody could die; even Arya. This was probably one of my favorite connections out of the series after Greyworm and Missandei, of course, who also took my heart for a loop when he asked her to runaway with him after all of the battles are over; great moment of foreshadowing.

And of course this episode had to end with Danny finding out she’s not the only contender for the throne. Although, Jon doesn’t want it, she’s terrified! It all makes sense to her which is why she tries to deflect and claim Jon being a Targaryen is a made up story… please ma’am, who would lie about being a part of your crazy bloodline?

Episode 3

The Long Night is FINALLY here and I am here for this entire battle. Danny goes off hinged yet again, doesn’t want to follow anybody’s plan, and further annoying me with her antics. I mean, I understand the Dothraki were pretty much eliminated as a people but who did she think she was going to help in this war if she died?

But this battle! The Night King was that dude. No, we never find out what he wants but lets be real, he was created by the Children of the Forrest to take out the human race, they didn’t really give him much purpose other than to bring death to humans; which, I think he did successfully throughout the entire series, just taking out these folk that were expecting him to still be in hibernation. There were so many different aspects of this episode to follow which gave it a depth that I think it needed since it was basically a hour and a half of people dying left and right, then being brought back to life because, you know, the Night King raises zombies in this medieval time.

Which brings me to my biggest question… if we know this man can raise the dead, why were all of the helpless women, children, and men in the crypt? The place filled with dead Stark’s. A tomb. Literally a cemetery.

Whatever… the highlight of the hour goes to ARYA STARK. Always knew she was destined for greatness. My girl had sex and did her thing, LOL. There were so many ways this could have gone left, honestly, I wouldn’t have been sad if they let the Night King win, but when Arya came through with her faceless man skills I was so proud and knew my baby was all growed up. Arya has been D.O.P.E. since she was little, and I’m so happy they have given her the path that she’s been placed on and ecstatic that the victory for saving human kind did not go to Jon Snow. I’m just confused how the long night lasted a hour and a half but we still haven’t faced Cersei yet. So Cersei is a larger battle to fight than the Night King? Hmmmmm…. not sold on that one, but I guess we’ll see when Danny makes her way to King’s Landing.

Episode 4

Now, I’ve dealt with a lot of dryness and things that did not make sense, but this nonsense of Euron taking down the ships and kidnapping Missandei has got to be the DUMBEST PLOT DECISION EVER. I'm annoyed with this entire season at this point.

I understand sending Danny into her character arc to show how she’s turned into her father, the mad king, but seriously? This season has just torn poor little Danny apart and turned her into this inconsistent, under developed tyrant with no sense. I know it’s going to get worse… from her declaration making Gendry Lord of Storm’s End to her attempt to convince Jon they can be together even though they’re aunt and nephew, she’s just too obsessed with a throne she’s never seen for me.

I can’t lie, when Jon told Sansa and Arya he needed them to promise to keep quiet if he told, I was sitting in my chair like “Sansa, just say you promise and break it.” Sansa has never made me more proud than the moment she stopped battling herself and chose to tell Tyrion who Jon really is.

The attacks on Danny are really stacking up and feel too rushed for what we’ve known GoT to pace us with. She buries Jorah, Jon denies her love, Rhaegal is shot out of the sky just as she thinks he’s healing after the battle, and then Missandei dies…. all in one episode?! Who the heck thought this was a good idea instead of just extending the season with more episodes?? I waited TWO YEARS for this mess! Guess we’ll see what other nonsense they can come up with in the last two episodes.

Episode 5

Of course we knew this was going to be bad… but this?? This was so extreme and out of character.

I commend Varys for his attempts to protect the people in the realm, but truthfully there wasn’t enough time to explore what Varys could have done to stop Danny… again blown at how rushed this Season has been and rather disappointed with the outcomes. Fast forward to the real issue of this episode… Daenarys Tarygaryen destroys Kings Landing after they surrender. She is no longer Danny after that foolishness. I personally think they waited too late in the game to change who she is and turn her into the present version of her father. Not saying that she was ever a great leader, because let’s face it she just walked around freeing slaves with no plan on how to care for them, but she NEVER would have taken innocent lives where unneeded. The Danny we’ve grown to know as the breaker of chains would have seen the people on their grown running fearful for their lives unprotected by their Queen, given them mercy, and burned Cersei, Qyburn, Ser Gregor, and whoever in the King’s Guard that wanted to stand by her once the city was conquered. But I digress…

This episode wasn’t even a fight! The long night was placed before this whhhyyyyy? Cersei stood in her castle and watched her people burn for her idiocy and then dies under some rubble in the arms of the man she loves whom also happens to be her twin brother?! This is how she dies after I’ve waited 8 seasons to watch Danny burn her alive… this is all Tyrion’s fault. Had he not let Jaime go I at least would have gotten to see Cersei’s crazy behind die the death she deserved just like Joffrey got what was coming for him in Season 4.

I have so many questions that I understand the concepts behind, because of my film background, but the execution was just poor and I wish they would have made an executive decision to extend the season to at least 10 episodes, maybe even throw in one more season to close everything out better than this bullshicocky. Now, I just want to know what else there is? What, Jon and Danny are going to fight for the thrown now or she’s going to burn him alive for telling his secret after she forbid him not to? This is a bunch of anti-climactic aggravation.

Episode 6

Bran the Broken? That’s how we’re saving the 6, not 7, kingdoms? Maybe I’m missing something… don’t get me wrong, cool Bran is the three-eyed raven, but my dude says nothing the entire last few seasons other than, “I am not Bran,” and “I don’t want to be Lord of Winterfell.” But he wants to be King of the Realm??

I’m glad Danny finally got taken out of the equation because she honestly deserved to die for the foul mistakes the writers made in her character arc… it was truly disrespectful to her as a person and she deserved to be let out of the nonsense her character has become. Whether I believed she would be a good Queen or not she didn’t deserve to go mad like her father did so abruptly without the dedication and development that it should have taken. I would have even been okay if she still went crazy, just not in 3 episodes. Of course Jon had to be the one to kill her, however, was his purpose to take her out and then return to the nights watch then go beyond the wall with the free folk?

The ONLY character arc I was satisfied with was Sansa. My girl Sansa showed up and showed out. As I said, a lot of people I know were disgusted by her, but honestly survival was what she had to go through and she made a comment to the Hound after the Night King died that solidified everything she did for me. She could have left King’s Landing with The Hound and been saved from Joffrey’s torture, marrying Tyrion, Ramsey raping her, and Littlefinger pimping her out, but if she didn’t go through all of those things she would have remained an ignorant “little bird” all her life. If that was the case I definitely wouldn’t have stuck behind her the way I did. She always wanted to be Queen, and she finally got it with making The North it’s own Kingdom, which it has always deserved to be. And let’s just throw in that Sansa’s coronation outfit was BAD! Okkurrr.

Although, the story line, plot, and character development was trash closing out this amazing story of stories, the graphics and imagery were EVERYTHING. My favorite scenes were with Drogon; him buried in the ash when Jon is entering the tower prepared to kill Danny, and right after Jon becomes the Queen Slayer and Drogon pops up destroying the Iron Throne when he can’t wake his mother. I can say the crew did their thing with location scouting and taking their time to give us the best visuals because the rest of the package was trash.

Overall

I want to say I’m happy, but… yea. I’m sure we’ll get some type of Spin-off for Arya or maybe even Sansa, there were so many loose ends left at the end anybody could get a spin-off, LOL. Thank you for the attempt, but I think maybe this team of writers should stick to adaptations and not try to complete a story that they didn’t start; didn’t seem to be their strong suit.

Film making is hard and I commend them fall all of their efforts, but I was less than impressed given the foundation that was laid for this to be a D.O.P.E. production. Oh well, maybe we’ll get a revamped version in about 20 years after the books are finished and somebody picks up the idea to try again.

#Game of Thrones #GoT #HBO GoT #Song of Fire and Ice #Cersei #Jaime #Bran #Jon Snow #Arya #The Starks #Sansa #Tyrion #The Lannisters #Danaerys #Mother of Dragons #Missandei #Grey Worm

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orangedodge · 5 years

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Incoming tag game post, where I'm going to be very indecisive about half of my responses.

I was tagged by @eldritch-crone

Thank you for that, I don't get to do these often.

Rules – Answer 11 questions from the person who tagged you, then ask 11 questions of your own and tag users to answer them.

Sadly I must confess that I thought about what 11 questions I could ask, nonstop, for almost two days.

1. If you could get two characters in asoiaf to switch their narratives with each other, who all would it be? Arya and Sansa is probably the standard reply, but I think switching Arya and Sansa's locations, while keeping the overall trajectory of their characters the same, would be really interesting. By which, I mean Sansa's circumstances would be radically different than Arya's, since Sansa's gender presentation isn't going to allow her to fake being a Night's Watch recruit, but an earlier version of the Brotherhood arc would still work and they'd make a good contrast to the tourney knights she met in the first book. So we'd get Sansa in contact with the commoners and petty nobles of her mother's homeland, while traveling with a band of outlaws, and getting her eyes opened to how false the codes of knighthood and nobility are along the way, instead of via Joffrey and his band of thugs, which I think would be neat. While meanwhile Arya is off surrounded by Lannisters, sneaking in and out of the city via the secret passages that only Varys and his spies know about, in a tamer version of her Harrenhal and Braavos arc both, as she develops the skills needed to restore justice for the people of King's Landing and reuinite with her family. There's also a good chance that Syrio lives, if Arya just gets arrested right away, and that Varys starts employing Arya as a spy if she naturally begins developing that skill set anyway (as in OTL), so she could have a fun list of mentor figures.

2. What is your endgame prediction for your favourite character? The prophesied betrayal “for love” is going to be Drogon, betraying Daenerys by disobeying her, in order to save her life. Prophesies like that always have to be the person their subject least expects and would most dread, so I feel like Drogon is the most satisfying option for Dany's final betrayer. And I like the idea of the betrayal for love being something meant genuinely as an act of love, that helps her.

3. What’s the one food item from asoiaf that you’d like to taste? I can't really think of any foods in Westeros that stood out, that didn't sound incredibly bland, and the meat and lamprey dishes probably wouldn't appeal to me anyway. Oberyn's chef makes an egg and pepper dish for Tyrion and Sansa that sounds like menemen, but that's about it, and it's not really unique to asoiaf. I've never really been clear on what Martin is describing when he talks about lemon cakes, though, so I'd be happy to at least see one. I'd be willing to try the locusts if they came in a non-poisoned variety.

4. What’s your favourite song in Westeros, and why? Rains of Castamere. I just think it sounds nice, and its structure seems to have lent cover artists more success in turning it into a real song than with the others.

5. If you could bring back one character from dead, who would it be? Oberyn Martell. I've always thought his early death was a mistake in light of the importance his family plays over the next two books, and I believe his presence in the fourth book would have made the way Martin thrust us into the Dorne plot less jarring for a lot of readers.

We would have also been spared several weird attempts to replace him with off-brand knockoff versions.

6. Which house’s words is the most iconic? Why? In universe, I think House Targaryen's words are treated the same way as we, as fans, tend to treat House Stark's. Between what we see in the fourth novel's prologue, the Dorne arc, and Brienne's adventures in the Crownlands, I see the Targaryen house words having taken on an air of grim promise to one another in the hearts of the masses. We, as readers, might find vowing “fire and blood” a bit strange and off-putting, but it's not any more extra than “winter is coming”/“the North remembers,” and it represents the only hope of justice and liberation that 90% of the people in this setting have.

7. If you could bring one fashion/stylistic choice from Essos to Westeros, what would it be? I love the hats they have in Braavos.

But I also really like how most of Dany's faction shaved their heads between books, presumably because they noticed she didn't have any hair either. In the end I can't really see that catching on in Westeros though, so I have to go with my initial instinct for more nice hats.

8. If you were a character in asoiaf, what do you think your occupation would be? There are some depressing similarities between jobs I've worked in the past, and what the assistant pyromancers are seen recounting of the hazardous chemicals their guild is always losing track of. Right down to some poor sub-auditor doing a routine inventory of a bunch of closets and storage cabinets, and incidentally finding misplaced explosives, pyrophoric liquids, and radioactive materials in strange and unexpected places. = /

9. What’s the one ship in asoiaf, that you wish didn’t happen?

I could live without the Arya/Gendry hints in the books. I can enjoy the show version of Arya/Gendry for their chemistry, but I would definitely be happier without the books' hints that Arya is destined to be romantically involved with a man that she smiled at when she was nine.

10. What’s your favourite quote from asoiaf? That's a bit difficult, upon realizing that most of my favorite lines were actually show only. I enjoy Martin's style of writing, but part of how easy he is to read, I think, prevents many individual lines from really standing out to me as particularly memorable. I liked most of Varys and Ned's last meeting, Ned tried a swallow. “Dregs.” He felt as though he were about to bring the wine back up. “All men must swallow the sour with the sweet. High lords and eunuchs alike. Your hour has come, my lord.” [...] “For fifteen years I protected him from his enemies, but I could not protect him from his friends. What strange fit of madness led you to tell the queen that you had learned the truth of Joffrey’s birth?”

“The madness of mercy,” Ned admitted.

but there's no one line in there that I'd be able to take apart from the whole, and still recognize.

Jon has one line in the first book that stuck with me for how creepy it was, “You’ll be sewing all through winter. When the spring thaw comes, they will find your body with a needle still locked tight between your frozen fingers.”

but it's inseparable from the source material; it doesn't really work as a quote of its own. The show, on the other hand, had “What do we say to the god of death?” and “That's not a monster, that's just a baby,” which I find more quotable.

11. If you could change one pre-asoiaf event, what would it be? Not a single event, but I would have Daenys the Dreamer be far more active, rather than being limited to a side character in her husband and father's stories, and then vanishing without a trace once she has children. It's really strange to me that a prophet-sorceress, who lives inside of a magic volcano, doesn't turn up in history more often; particularly since, unlike her husband and father, she's actually an important historical figure within the actual asoiaf narrative. Daenys seems to just get shuffled off to her room by the men in her life as soon as she finishes her prophesies, even though dragons were meant to be the great equalizer, among her people, that prevented that kind of thing from happening. The same should go for all of the pre-Dance women of House Targaryen, but given that Daenys played an important role in saving the world, I'd have really liked to have her be active in navigating the post-Doom of Valyria fallout.

My eleven questions:

1. Whose point-of-view do you think is most extraneous to the novels, or whose interiority is least necessary to the story?

2. If you could elevate a supporting character to a secondary point-of-view status, in what book would you have made this change?

3. Which coat of arms/achievement do you think is best designed?

4. Which is your favorite scenery/location description?

5. What would be your favorite city or town to visit?

6. Who is your favorite obscure character? (i.e. that doesn't appear in the show, or that most people would need the wiki to identify)

7. What is your favorite world-building element?

8. Show question: Is there any member of the cast that you'd cast as a different character?

9. Which minor house would you like to know more about?

10. How many books long do you think asoiaf should be in total?

11. What is your favorite religion?

Open to anyone who wants to participate, because I only know five other people who like asoiaf and I don't know if any of them like tag games!

#asoiaf #tag game #game of thrones

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thebookishgoddess · 5 years

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#Project14Lists 2018: Bookish Ships

My first post for the #Project14Lists bookish event is a list of my bookish ships! I know, controversial. Not everyone ships the canon couple, or ships that one character with anyone at all. Nevertheless, we are all here to express our love for books and the couples that our favorite authors have written, not to throw shade or spill the tea on each other’s ships. We are all trash for something, and we must respect each other’s trash (if that makes any sense, haha!)

For today’s list, I will be putting up twelve of my favorite bookish ships and my favorite fanart of them (with credits to the brilliant artists, of course!). There are waaaay too many ships that I love, if I’m being realistic here. But I got lazy after the 12th graphic I had to edit up for this. I’ll be dabbling on my favorite quotes/scenes of the ships and a little reaction to said quote or scene.

Let the fangirling commence!

Cover photo credit: johannathemad

1. Thomas Creswell & Audrey Wadsworth from the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco

Favorite Quote/Scene: “You are not mine to take.” He brushed his lips against mine. Softly, so softly I might have imagined them there. My eyes fluttered shut. He could persuade me to build a steamship to the moon when he kissed me. We could orbit the stars together. “You are yours to give.” --Hunting Prince Dracula

Are you bloody kidding me with that? Honestly, Thomas and Audrey is on the top ten of my favorite ships of all time simply because of that scene alone. This scene shows how much Thomas values Audrey as his equal and partner despite all the mayhem they went through. Also because Thomas Cresswell is every girl’s #bookboyfriendgoals because he’s suave af. I WILL SHIP IT TO MY GRAVE.

Art by phantomrin

2. Elias Veturius & Laia of Serra from the Ember Quartet by Sabaa Tahir

Favorite Quote/Scene: Laia is curled in a ball on the other, one hand on her armlet, fast asleep.

"You are my temple", I murmur as I kneel beside her. "You are my priest. You are my prayer. You are my release." --A Torch Against the Night

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR. Do men like Elias Veturius even exist in the 21st Century? Hells no. Well, maybe, but the probability of one existing is about 1 to a million, so there’s that. I have never been so moved by such a simple statement, especially since that mantra is supposed to be Elias’s mantra to like, what was it? His honor in fighting for the Empire? But when he said that to Laia, it’s the same level of honor and I’m just so emotional about that?? What even?? How dare Sabaa??

Art by gabriella.bujdoso

11. Draco Malfoy & Astoria Greengrass from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Favorite Quote/Scene: DRACO: Which is why you need this [time-turner]. I have been holding onto it, barely resisting using it, even though I would sell my soul for another minute with Astoria.

DRACO: You [speaking to his son, Scorpius] know what I loved most about your mother [Astoria]? She could always help me find light in the darkness. She made the world — my world, anyway — less — what was the word you used — “murky.”

--Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT DRACO MALFOY FOR A HOT MINUTE? This man, who firmly believes himself hopeless soon after the Battle of Hogwarts ended, gets the happiest gift of all by having some girl named Astoria Greengrass see the good in him and love him for who he is. If that isn’t the best trope in a ship, I don’t know what is! We know nothing about Astoria other than the fact that she’s some obscure sister of yet another obscure classmate of Draco’s named Daphne. And yet, she seemed one of the most integral characters to me in Cursed Child when Draco said that he resisted using the time-turner to see his dead wife.

Let’s not forget how when Scorpius time-traveled to a VoldemortWins!AU that Draco still ends up with Astoria. I think that’s what so beautiful about Draco and Astoria. They’re such a minor couple in the background of Hinny and Romione, but they carry so much history we’ve yet to know thanks to their darling cinnamon roll of a son, Scorpius. Anyone who truly knows me is already knowledgeable of the fact that I cry over this ship on a daily basis. And I’m sorry again that I had to cry and make one heck of a long description for this ship because they’re my ultimate fave *ugly sobs*.

Art by blvnk-art

4. Cress Darnell & Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Favorite Quote/Scene:

“Captain?“ “Cress.“ She couldn’t not say it, although she realized he was right. It was sort of scary. Much scarier than it had been the first time she’d told him, out in the desert. It was different now. It was real. "I’m in love with you.” He chuckled. “I should hope so, after all that.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her temple. “And I love you too.” --Winter

FIRST OF ALL, WHAT THE ACTUAL FORK I AM SCREECHING OVER THAT. That scene was probably one of the most memorable scenes I’ve read in the last installment of the Lunar Chronicles. Forget how Levana died and all was well. I cannot help but forget this very scene that sets every other couple in the series apart because of how well-written and developed these two were together. Right now, I am super tempted to re-read the Lunar Chronicles, just for the heck of rereading Cresswell (the ship name) all over again.

Art by vvivaa

5. Tedros & Agatha from The School for Good and Evil series by Soman Chainani

Favorite Quote/Scene: “But you are my queen. No one but you. And I like seeing you wear it. Because as long as you do, I know you still love me. And given our history of miscommunication, physical cues are helpful.” --The Last Ever After

I absolutely adore Tedros and Agatha. I have been rooting for them since day one of this series and I will never stop (even if Soman highkey tore them apart in Quests for Glory, for shame). They’re probably the most realistic couple to me, if there was a better word for it? Miscommunication definitely happens a lot between these two because Tedros can be pretty dense sometimes and Agatha can be quite arrogant. But I always love how they come together in the end to work it out because that’s what most couples do--they fight, but they don’t lose sight of what’s really important to them. Tedros and Agatha physically embodies those kind of relationships and I am absolutely here for it. Soman needs to stop hurting me after Quests for Glory though because Tedros and Agatha being apart up until Crystal of Time physically hurts me askhjsfkhja.

Art by thevioleteuphonia

6. Nina Zenik & Matthias Helvar from the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo

Favorite Quote/Scene:

“I am grateful you're alive", he said. "I am grateful that you're beside me. I am grateful that you're eating."

She rested her head on his shoulder.

"You're better than waffles, Matthias Helvar."

A small smile curled the Fjerdan's lips.

"Let's not say things we don't mean, my love.” --Crooked Kingdom

I AM STILL HIGHKEY MAD FOR WHAT LEIGH DID TO THIS SHIP. I won’t say more, but I will say that this is the most painful ship to have ever sailed and I will never get over it. But also the sweetest and well-crafted because of how much these two characters developed over the course of two books. Granted, Nina and Matthias had their history together before the Dregs, but even without it, Leigh wrote them in a way that makes you believe they really are meant for each other in the end despite all adversity. I’m happy Nina is likely going to get a female love interest in Leigh’s installment on Prince Nikolai’s story, though her being with Matthias will always have a special place in my heart.

Art by nilaffle

7. Lira & Elian Midas from To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Favorite Scene/Quote:

“If you get shot,” Lira says, “I’m going to treat you like you’re incapable of doing the simplest tasks.”

She cradles her arms around her knees to keep out the cold.

“See how you like it when I hold out my arm to help you walk, even though you’re not shot in the leg.”

“I’d be flattered,” I say, “that you would look for an excuse just to hold my hand.”

“Perhaps I’m just looking for an excuse to shoot you.” --To Kill a Kingdom

I love a good “do I want to kill you or kiss you, it’s interchangeable” trope between couples, and when it comes to Lira and Elian, they pretty much seal the deal on that kind. Lira, the princess siren, is pretty much a cray murderer that takes people’s hearts and Elian is a prince-pirate that’s set to destroy her and kill her for good. I mean, it can’t get any more angst and interesting than that. The way they slowly develop in this standalone is very intriguing because not a lot of authors can pull off a realistic romance fantasy the way Alexandra Christo did. I just absolutely love Lira and Elian, their funny banters and their angst. They’re the kind of ship I would sail forever, really.

Art by silketara

8. Ron Weasley & Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

There was a clatter as the basilisk fangs cascaded out of Hermione's arms. Running at Ron, she flung them around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron threw away the fangs and broomstick he was holding and responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted Hermione off her feet. --Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

CONTROVERSY. But seriously, I absolutely adore and love Ron and Hermione together because of their balance as a couple. There are times where Ron will be street smart and there are times (but most of the time) where Hermione will be book smart. Plus, I definitely think they need each other at times to get off their own high horses because we all know Hermione can be a wee bit intense and Ron can be a wee bit ignorant, but that’s the beauty of them balancing each other out. And that particular favorite scene I just showed proved just how far their relationship as more than friends have come. I practically squealed the first time I read their first kiss scene!

Plus, have you seen them in Cursed Child? I know hardly anyone considers it canon, but adult Ron and Hermione are the cutest ship to squeal at in that book--which seems to be one of the very few good things that book had ever produced.

Art by johannathemad

9. Elain Archeron & Lucien Vanserra from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

Favorite Scene/Quote: Lucien’s hands slackened at his sides. His voice broke as he whispered to Elain, “You’re my mate.” --A Court of Mist and Fury

Here we go, y’all. Another controversial ship. Let me just say that I want Elain to be happy, and whether it’s with Azriel or Lucien or by herself, I’m totally down for that. I just simply love the idea of Elain and Lucien together because of how actual smol beans they both are. Elain, our sweet flower girl and Seer with Lucien, our soft and loyal Fae--I mean, honestly. If I’m weak for ships that want to kill each other, I’m also weak for ships that have the softest hearts. I think they both have their own struggles and I definitely think they’ll grow from those struggles together.

We all know what happened in ACOFAS and how Elain pretty much snubbed Lucien, but I still have high hopes for them. Maas has a plethora of novels coming out for the minor characters of the ACOTAR series, and I’m betting Elain and Lucien will get their moment in one of those novels. I haven’t lost hope yet! I mean, I bought magnetic bookmarks of these two, so it’s pretty clear I want these two to be endgame, haha!

Art by embaileyart

10. Nesta Archeron & Cassian from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

Favorite Quote/Scene: Cassian grunted in pain, but lifted his bloodied hands - to cup her face. “I have no regrets in my life but this.” His voice shook with every word. “That we did not have time. That I did not have time with you, Nesta.”

She didn’t stop him as he leaned up and kissed her - lightly. As much as he could manage. --A Court of Wings and Ruin

I think the whole, if not all, of the ACOTAR fandom can agree that Nesta and Cassian are endgame through and through. Judging by that intense moment alone as per the scene presented above, I can pretty much say that while they both have a long way to go, the foundation has already been built from there. I mean, come on, people! They were willing to get killed by the King of Hybern if it meant protecting each other. If that isn’t squeal-fangirl factor trying to protect each other from some evil war lord, I don’t know what is!

Art by meabhd

11. America Singer & Maxon Schreave from The Selection series by Kiera Cass

Favorite Quote/Scene: “Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.” --The One

My high school fangirlish heart is exploding with memories of how much I loved America and Maxon back then, and I still do! This single sentence above said by Maxon says so much about how far he and America have come together through the adversities faced during the Selection and the rebellions that came with it from the people of Illea. Their love story is definitely one for the ages. While it’s your typical poor girl marries rich prince story, they’re definitely worth the remarkable development they’ve have over the course of three beautiful books.

Art by marimari999

12. Arin & Kestrel from the The Winner’s Curse trilogy by Marie Rutkoski

Favorite Quote/Scene: She turned to look at him, and he was already looking at her.

“I’m going to miss you when I wake up,” she whispered, because she realized that she must have fallen asleep under the sun. Arin was too real for her imagination. He was a dream.

“Don’t wake up,” he said. --The Winner’s Crime

I’m in slight tears because I still remember this scene in the second book. The scene wasn’t actually real, but a dream that Kestrel had after months of being separated from Arin by some messed up duty to her country. Y’all have no idea the struggle these two had before they finally got their happily ever after (they did, just a little heads up for any hopefuls wanting to read the trilogy). This scene definitely gave me a sense of the impending tragedy of them being together (and yes, there’s also a forbidden love trope, sign me tf up, amiright), but it was a momentary bliss to everything that’s been happening during the course of when that scene happened. I absolutely adore Kestrel and Arin, and I’m so mad very few people have read of them or the series ahhhh.

Art by taylordraws

Phew! That was a lot of ships and hunting down for their quotes. Admittedly, I had some trouble with looking for scenes/quotes and that’s actually a perfect opportunity for me to start bookmarking my favorite parts of a book.

Aside from the struggles, though, I’d love to hear some of your favorite bookish ships, whether we ship the same thing or not. It’s always interesting to hear someone else’s point of view of ships, especially ones where our ships contradict. Feel free to sound off in the comments below!

#booklr #bookish blog #project14lists #discussion #bookish ships

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